Shropshire Star

NHS in Shropshire special report: Trust record 'good' on protecting staff

Bosses at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust today insisted they had a good track record in protecting staff after it emerged there had been almost 200 physical assaults in a year.

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NHS Protect, which leads on works to safeguard NHS staff and resources from crime, recently released figures on reported physical assaults against NHS staff throughout England in 2014/15.

Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust reported 191 assaults against its 6,361-strong workforce in 2014/15.

But managers at the trust, which runs the county's two main hospitals, said it was in the top 20 per cent of acute trusts for securing criminal sanctions against offenders.

Julia Clarke said the trust took patient and staff safety very seriously

Of the 191 incidents, 168 involved medical factors where the perpetrator did not know what they were doing, or did not know what they were doing was wrong due to medical illness, mental ill-health, severe learning disabilities or due to treatment.

Health chiefs said of the 23 reported assaults where there was no medical factor involved, 35 per cent resulted in some form of criminal sanction.

Eight criminal sanctions, which could include cautions, fines and prison sentences, were handed out.

Julia Clarke, director of corporate governance at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, said: "We take the protection of both our patients and staff very seriously and there are many steps which we take to ensure the safety of everybody at our hospitals.

"Our staff are very good at reporting both intentional and non-intentional acts of violence because they know that we take action.

"Where we are able to identify individuals who have behaved aggressively towards staff we work with the local police and Crown Prosecution Service to bring criminal sanctions against them."

There were also 23 civil and administrative sanctions issued as a result of the incidents at the Trust, which range from acceptable behaviour agreements to an injunction.

It was the first year that civil and administrative sanctions have been disclosed and bosses at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust said the figures were reported at the Trust's request to reflect the work that it had been doing for a number of years.

Ms Clarke said: "We believe we lead the way nationally in taking these kind of sanctions.

"Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust is in the top 20 per cent of acute trusts for securing criminal sanctions against offenders.

"Of the 23 reported assaults where there was no medical factor involved, 35 per cent resulted in some form of criminal sanction."

She said the Trust also had a full-time accredited local security management specialist, with two 24/7 security guards at each site, and security staff use body-worn video which can be used as evidence in any legal proceedings.

She added: "Often, just a warning from the security staff that they are turning on the camera and beginning to record is enough to calm down aggressive behaviour.

"We have also invested in improving CCTV across both sites, which was extended last year, and we also have radio links to the police, who respond very quickly when we need them."

She said offenders were also sent letters from the chief executive warning of future consequences should they repeat their behaviour.

The new statistics showed there were 67,864 reported physical assaults against NHS staff throughout the country – a small reduction from 68,683 in 2013/14.

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