Time for NHS staffto be alarmed?

May 12 2009 by John Avison, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

THE fight against a rising tide of violence towards health workers was strengthened last week with the start of distribution of 30,000 personal security alarms to NHS staff who work on their own.

The action by Health Secretary Alan Johnson is part of a commitment made two years ago and is timely.

But it is sometimes hard to make sense of statistics to get the full picture of violence and intimidation against staff.

It’s estimated that violence against staff costs the NHS £100m a year in terms of extra security, absenteeism, staff training and legal bills.

There has been an annual £30m in the kitty for the last two years and another £30m for 2010/11 to improve safety and security for lone workers such as health visitors, district nurses, doctors and ambulance staff.

Part of the problem has been the reporting of violent incidents by staff themselves and the way statistics are gathered.

From April 1, 2007 to March 31, 2008 there were 70 recorded violent incidents against Kirklees NHS staff. Thirteen of these resulted in minor injuries to staff and 21 involved abusive phone calls.

But in a staff survey last year, just four attacks among 1,144 staff were recorded.

In the same national survey, other authorities registered between 200 and 400 attacks per 1,000 staff – clearly different parameters are being used from authority to authority.

There is a distinction to be made between violence against lone workers and that experienced, for instance, in casualty departments.

MPs were told last week that seven out of 10 weekend visits to A and E departments were alcohol-related. Many erupt into violence, both by injured people and their relatives.

The lone worker alarm system is designed for nurses and other healthcare staff who work in isolation from colleagues and may need the ability to call for assistance when their personal security is threatened.

The i750 identicom devices made by Reliance use Location Based Service (LBS) technology – in other words, the mobile phone transmission network.