Police at hospital to halt staff abuse
POLICE have stepped up their presence at a Northumberland Hospital in a bid to halt assaults, threats and abuse against NHS staff.
An onsite police officer will help prevent attacks on the hardworking staff the Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital (NSECH), in Cramlington, during the evenings and overnight.
Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust is working with police to “provide greater reassurance to patients, visitors and staff”, as emergency services across the region report an increase in the number of attacks on staff.
The officer works alongside the trust’s security team to “provide a visible deterrent for aggressive behaviour, signpost people to support services if required and assist should incidents occur”, according to trust representatives.
The new initiative comes as part of the trust’s “it’s not okay” campaign, which aims to tackle louts who raise their voice, physically threaten or swear at and intimidate NHS workers.
Northumbria Police Chief Inspector Ron Charlton said the initiative had already seen officers
“diffuse potentially difficult situations” at the hospital.
He said: “It is completely unacceptable for emergency service workers to be assaulted, threatened or abused in any way as they go about their duties. Hospital staff
come to work each day to help people and being subjected to abuse is simply unacceptable.
“Putting our officers into hospitals acts as a deterrent and also means we are on-hand to act quickly and appropriately should any incidents arise.”
Rachel Heeley, matron for emergency care at the Northumbria hospital, added: “This is an excellent example of joint working between our trust and the police. Like all hospitals treating patients in emergency situations, we can have people who display challenging or abusive behaviour which is not only distressing for the staff involved but detracts from our primary aim of providing, what can be, life-saving care. Having the police on site during our peak times act as a visible, accessible and reassuring presence to our patients, visitors and staff and means they are on-hand to diffuse any difficult situations at an early opportunity.”
As part of the launch of the initiative, Northumbria Healthcare is also backing calls for tougher action against those who attack emergency workers.