Re: ‘Care aide stabbed in chest,’ The NEWS, Jan. 20.
A “local care aide” commenting on the stabbing of a VIHA care aide by a Parksville man says that VIHA care aides “don’t have any training to deal with violence.”
Two paragraphs down, a VIHA spokesperson is quoted saying “We provide mandatory violence prevention training to all of our staff…”
So who is telling the truth, VIHA or the local care aide, the one “who asked not to be identified”? Or is there some other explanation for this apparent discrepancy? Did the reporter obtain any proof from either VIHA or the unnamed local care aide that their statements are correct?
And why does the media persist in using anonymous sources? Unless it’s necessary to protect a person from harm, publishing statements made by anonymous sources just invites discrepancies and interferes with the public’s ability to be informed.
L.J. (Joan) Sampson
Qualicum Beach