Moves to prevent assaults on staff

EMERGENCY department staff have revealed there had been a number of “reasonably serious” assaults on staff with steps put in place to ensure their safety.

Townsville University Hospital’s ED director Dr Luke Lawton says making sure staff are supported and empowered to recognise and document abusive behaviour had been a strong focus over the past 12 months.

Robust guidelines have been developed to address the issue.

Dr Lawton said there was a significant difference between someone who is confused and delirious to someone who is choosing to behave in a way that is abusive or threatening.

“Just as we’ve taken extraordinary steps for our staff to prevent them contracting COVID … likewise, if I have a highly experienced staff member who’s injured or burnt out or who walks away because they’ve had enough of violence, that’s not someone I can just replace off a shelf,” he said.

“I look at our staff and think they’re a very vital resource for our community so protecting them is actually in the interests of the community themselves.

“We recognise our staff come to work to help people and to do that we need people to let us help them, we can’t do that if our personal safety is threatened.”

While alcohol or drug-related presentations increase the risk of violence toward staff, abuse is not exclusively a result of those issues, according to statistics.

April saw fewer admissions for drug and alcohol-related issues due to COVID lockdowns, with the “feel” of the department said to be “very, very different.”