BURRILLVILLE, R.I. (WPRI) -- The nurses union is speaking out about a violent patient at the state-run Eleanor Slater Hospital's Zambarano campus, alleging he's repeatedly attacked staff members and the state has failed to create a safe work environment. The issue has spilled out publicly after a nurse alleged the latest attack happened on Friday. It comes on the heels of the R.I. Department of Administration last month rejecting a grievance filed by United Nurses and Allied Professionals Local 5019, a union representing nurses at the publicly funded hospital in Burrillville. UNAP president Lynn Blais said members are "extremely frustrated." "He bites, he scratches, he hits, he punches," Blais told 12 News on Thursday. "No one should have to work under those conditions." The patient -- who has not been identified -- was transferred in the spring to Zambarano after the state closed the Regan Building, a separate division of Eleanor Slater Hospital in Cranston, for renovations. After arriving in Burrillville, the union alleged the patient quickly started assaulting staff and hurting himself. The grievance outlines multiple incidents when he allegedly acted violently, including throwing feces at a nurse, pulling the hair of another and assaulting two staff members. In one instance, he left five finger scratches on a certified nursing assistant's arm "that drew blood," according to the grievance. Blais said they've now been told by leadership, "Go in being prepared to be attacked." "To tell your staff that you need to be prepared to be attacked and not put the resources in place to prevent those attacks is unacceptable," Blais said. "It's not something that any nurse or health care workers should have to listen to their manager saying." Randy Edgar, a spokesperson for the R.I. Department of Behavioral Health, Developmental Disabilities and Hospitals, which oversees Zambarano, said, "The safety of our patients and staff is the hospital's utmost priority." In addition to contacting law enforcement, Edgar said the department has increased security on the patient's unit, enhanced staff when working with him and retrained staff on "safe patient handling." It wasn't immediately clear whether any criminal action has been taken against the patient, but the union said it has filed criminal complaints. R.I. State Police, which has jurisdiction over the facility, did not immediately provide reports related to the patient on Wednesday. "The hospital considers multiple strategies to enhance the safety of its staff on an ongoing basis," Edgar added. Blais isn't buying it, calling the state's position "lip service." "Talk doesn't get us where we need to go," she said. "We need action." The union has requested that the patient be transferred back to Cranston and even considered discharging him to a homeless shelter, according to the grievance. But staff officials responded, saying the patients' medical needs "are extensive," and they can't be managed at the state's psychiatric hospital in Cranston. A doctor who testified at the grievance hearing said the patient has "resisted all attempts to be discharged and won't apply for anything that would transfer him out of Zambarano, so they're stuck with him." Eleanor Slater -- the state-run hospital system -- is broken up into multiple divisions. In 2022, it became licensed to use one of them as a standalone psychiatric hospital. With 75 beds, Zambarano has long been a place where patients with long-term developmental disabilities and other complex medical conditions have lived and received care. Some have lived there for decades. Blais said the current issue at Zambarano is serious and needs attention, but she said it's also emblematic of a larger and growing issue of violence against nurses in hospitals across the state. "It happens," she said. "There's still a lot of work to be done when it comes to ensuring the safety of all of our health care workers in the state, in every hospital. We face this every single day." Eli Sherman ([email protected]) is a Target 12 investigative reporter for 12 News. Connect with him on Twitter and on Facebook. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Daily Roundup SIGN UP NOW