1 November 2010
New figures show that the number of physical assaults and incidents of violence and aggression against staff at Epsom, St Helier and Sutton hospitals increased last year.
During 2009-10, there were 275 reported incidents of violence and aggression against doctors, nurses and other staff at the Trust, compared to 208 the previous year - a rise of 32%. This includes 104 physical assaults, a rise from 78 in 2008-09.
Chief Executive, Samantha Jones, said: "I read these new figures with a very heavy heart. I truly believe that every single member of my staff deserves to feel safe at work and I simply cannot understand why a very small minority of patients think it's acceptable to verbally or physically assault our staff.
"Our doctors, nurses and support staff all work incredibly hard to help and treat members of the public in their hour of need, and to have to endure physical attacks and violent behaviour while they do so is frankly appalling.
"We do as much as we can to help protect our staff from violence and aggression, including offering special training on how to manage difficult situations, but the only people who can really stop these incidents are the people who commit them."
In the hospital's A&E departments, physical and, more commonly, verbal abuse are sadly, regular occurrences. Fiona Tregoiing, senior sister in the A&E at St Helier Hospital, said: "We appreciate that being in hospital, or seeing a loved one in pain or distress, can be very difficult for people. But that's no excuse for becoming aggressive, abusive or even lashing out at staff members. We're here to our job - to help people get better, not to be used as someone to shout at or, in the worst case, a punch bag.
"I've been physically assaulted twice in my 20 year career and sadly, verbal abusive is even more common. It just shouldn't happen - it shouldn't be a part of anyone's working life. I would say to any member of the public: if you want to use us, don't abuse us. You won't be seen by us if you do become aggressive. And after all, we are only human."
Samantha Jones added: "We have a zero tolerance policy against any kind of abusive or violent behaviour towards staff and we will not hesitate in contacting our on-site security team or the police as soon as it is necessary. Assaults on staff are never, ever justifiable and we will do everything we can to prevent them, including pushing for a criminal conviction."
