Public Servant Lifestyle

More than 50 people have been prosecuted by NHS Trusts for violent or abusive behaviour towards staff in the last 8 months, following the issuing of tough new guidance to the NHS last year.

Health Minister John Hutton is urging Trusts to take even tougher action against people who threaten, intimidate or assault healthcare staff. Mr.Hutton has now launched a nationwide poster campaign to raise awareness amongst general practice staff - and to spell out to patients in family doctor surgeries - that violent behaviour will not be tolerated. The posters, which include images of staff being physically and verbally abused, will be appearing in every general practice surgery. The posters carry a clear warning that violent and abusive patients will be reported to the police, may be subsequently prosecuted and may be struck off a GP's list.

Security

John Hutton said: "The safety of staff working in the NHS is paramount. We are already working with the NHS and stakeholders to ensure that violence against staff is stamped out. We need to correct the historic under-reporting by NHS staff of incidents of violent behaviour. The message of this poster campaign is clear: GPs, practice nurses and other practice staff have the right to care for others without fear of being attacked or abused.

"I welcome the report published today by the National Audit Office that recognises the good progress we have already made to improve the safety of NHS staff at work. But it rightly highlights where we need to do more. This campaign supports guidance and resource packs previously issued to the NHS, which have already increased awareness and encouraged more staff than ever before to report incidents of violent or abusive behaviour - a key objective of the NHS zero tolerance zone campaign. This campaign underlines our commitment to protecting staff in general practice and across the NHS, to improve the working environment."

Funding

For the first time in 2001, central funding was made available to support local measures for tackling violence against staff. By 2004 over £3 million will be allocated to support managers and staff. In its first year, central funding, matched by local employers, supported 173 local security measures. Further funding will be allocated as part of the Improving Working Lives programme in 2003-4.

The new Counter Fraud and Security Management Service (CFSMS) Special Health Authority (SHA) has now taken over lead responsibility for tackling violence against NHS staff. From 2004, as part of their accreditation process, security specialists in health bodies will receive training in law enforcement techniques, such as interviewing and taking statements from witnesses.

Sir Nigel Crisp wrote to Primary Care Trust (PCT) Chief Executives in June 2002 asking them to properly assess the risk of violence in general practice and ensures that local action plans are in place. This included ensuring that all GPs have access to secure facility for the treatment of violent or abusive patients.

Police Liaison

The Managers' Guide - Stopping Violence Against Staff Working in the NHS issued in October 2002, stressed the importance of establishing close working relationships with the police and the benefits of participating in statutory local Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships.

It urges managers to:

- ensure staff report all violent incidents to the police where appropriate;

- consider extending the role of Health and Safety Officers to act as a Police Liaison Officer;

- consider the need to develop local policies on withholding treatment from violent and abusive patients; - work with their lawyers on supporting prosecution against individuals in cases where the Crown Prosecution Service decides not to do so.

Sylvia Denton OBE FRCN, President of the Royal College of Nurses said: "Around one in three nurses told us that they had experienced some form of harassment or assault by their patients in the last twelve months, so this is a serious problem. The RCN believes strongly that nurses have a right to be safe wherever they work, so we're pleased to see the issue of violence against staff in general practice highlighted."

Threatening

June Chandler, National Officer of the UNISON health group said: "The message is clear - NHS staff will no longer tolerate violent, abusive or threatening behaviour in the course of their work. Violence towards NHS staff is a crime. Every incident should be reported, and where necessary, lead to prosecution. NHS staff are dedicated to caring for the public. All they are asking is that the public cares for them."

A report published by the National Audit Office also said that good progress has been made to improve the protection from violence given to NHS staff and that better awareness of the need for reporting - and more widespread use of common definitions of what constitutes violence and aggression - have contributed to an increase in reporting. It also highlighted that more work needs to be done in several areas, including reporting procedures, partnership working with other agencies, effective staff training and evidence based security measures.

This latest campaign supports the NHS zero tolerance zone campaign, launched in October 1999, underlines the Government's commitment to stamp out violence against NHS staff. All NHS HR Directors were issued with new guidance Dealing With Harassment by NHS Service Users - A guide for NHS Managers in September 2002 to support NHS managers and staff to deal effectively with all forms of harassment.

More information available in Work Environment