Violence against hospital staff in Bradford has fallen, new figures out today reveal.

Statistics from NHS Protect¹ show the total number of assaults on NHS staff at Bradford Royal Infirmary and St Luke’s Hospitals reduced from 129 in 2009/10 to 94 in 2010/11².

Karon Snape, the Foundation Trust’s security management specialist, said the year-on-year reduction was encouraging but that tackling violence and aggression against staff remained a key corporate priority for the organisation.

She added: “These figures are a step in the right direction but the hard work of protecting our staff against assaults and violence continues.

“We want patients and the public to understand that we have a zero tolerance approach to violence and aggression and while our security staff deal with the majority of incidents, we will involve the police when necessary.”

The Foundation Trust carries out regular violence and aggression risk assessments to identify hotspots.  We then put in place support to reduce the number of incidents in these areas.

Staff also receive conflict resolution training where they are taught de-escalation techniques and to recognise the warning signs in people displaying violent and aggressive behaviour.

Last year, the Foundation Trust also gave out more than 200 personal security alarms to lone workers, such as midwives, occupational therapists and physiotherapists, who carry out home visits in order that they can activate the alarms to protect themselves when faced with potentially aggressive or dangerous situations.

“While the Accident and Emergency department remains a flashpoint for violence and aggression, having a police station on site is acting as a good deterrent,” continued Karon.

“The overwhelming majority of our patients pose no threat and greatly welcome the community support we offer through many of our services. However Bradford Teaching Hospitals has a responsibility to protect its workforce against the small number of incidents of violence, threatening behaviour and verbal abuse which occur each year.

"NHS staff who suffer violence or abuse can be confident that action will be taken against those who have committed assaults.”

¹ NHS Protect is the new name for the organisation formerly known as NHS Security Management Service.

² This year’s figures break down into 81 unintentional assaults (where medical factors were involved) while 13 were categorised as intentional.