The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust (PAHT) has launched a new zero tolerance campaign, titled no excuse for abuse , which is aimed at combating the risk of violence and aggressive behaviour towards staff and encourages patients and visitors to reflect on their actions.
The new campaign aims to embed a culture of support, safety and respect at all times and to create an environment that is free from abuse of all kinds, including verbal, physical, and racist taunts.
The visual assets for the campaign are promoted across the hospital, off-site offices and community sites through vinyl graphics and posters on entrance doors and lifts, as well as through digital messaging display screens and social media channels.
In order to further support the health and wellbeing of colleagues, in line with the ‘we are safe and healthy’ NHS People Promise, the campaign is also underpinned by the encouragement of reporting all incidents relating to violence and aggressive behaviour, enhancing policies and protocols in place to manage challenging behaviours, and providing further safety and de-escalation training for colleagues in ‘high risk’ environments.
As well as the visual aspects of the campaign, staff will also be able to exclude patients from the hospital and community sites, when it is clinically safe to do so, if a patient subjects a member of staff to violence and aggression at work.
Giuseppe Labriola, deputy chief nurse and lead for the campaign at PAHT, said: “Our dedicated teams are proud to provide high-quality care, support and experiences for our patients and visitors.
“Most people can go to work without the risk of violence and aggressive behaviour and so should our health professionals – but this isn’t always the case.
“We understand that patients may feel frustrated while waiting to be seen, feeling unwell, or in a heightened state of emotion; however, our people have the right to feel safe and valued to enable them to focus on providing the care our patients need.
“Violence and aggressive behaviour towards our people are taken very seriously and will not be tolerated. The appropriate action will be taken.
“Our heartfelt thanks to the majority of our patients and visitors who already show kindness and respect to our people. We hope to see all of our patients and visitors actively support this message.”