Staff at Yate's Minor Injury Unit (MIU) have spoken out following a rise in violence and abusive behaviour from patients.
While the majority are respectful and appreciative, there has continued to be a worrying rise in abusive behaviour during the pandemic and local NHS health and care organisations are repeating calls for people to be kind and respectful.
Healthcare staff know there will be occasions where patients, due to the nature of their condition or through cognitive impairment, may become confused or stressed in unfamiliar environments; which can lead to challenging behaviour. Staff are offered de-escalation training to help deal with these kinds of instances.
However, there are many violent, aggressive and abusive incidents which do not involve such patients and can have a lasting impact.
A campaign called ‘It’s not OK’ is under way, which features healthcare staff sharing their experiences and urging the public to respect healthcare staff and remember that they’re people, too, following the rise in incidents.
Lizzy Hooper, deputy matron at Yate’s MIU said: “I shouldn’t have to be fearful for my team’s safety, yet this is a large part of what I am facing at the moment.
"We work very hard to ensure people in our care can be safely assessed and supported with their health care needs. It can be very challenging when individuals expect us to be able to see conditions we are not able to treat; we can only see minor injuries less than two weeks old.
"Some people visiting the department are reluctant to accept there are more appropriate options available to meet their needs. We would ask people to be kind and understand the pressures that we are all facing in these challenging times.”
Donna Walker, receptionist for Yate’s MIU, said: “I can feel quite vulnerable while working at the front desk and not knowing who I may deal with every day, particularly when it is really busy. It can also feel very unsettling and demoralising when trying to help a person, only to be yelled at and sworn at along with negative and quite mean comments made towards me and my colleagues.”
A number of healthcare workers across the region have also spoken out.
Hannah Walker, a sister in the children’s emergency department at the Bristol Royal Hospital for Children which is part of University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust (UHBW), said: “Unfortunately, we have seen a significant increase in the number of incidents of violence and aggression displayed towards staff by members of the public. This is not acceptable. It impacts on how staff feel at work and can also be really challenging for other families to witness. Please remember our staff are people too, please treat us with respect.”
There are a number of measures in place to support healthcare staff when experiencing violent or aggressive behaviour from patients; ranging from warning letters and acceptable behaviour contracts to patients being excluded from the premises and, in some circumstances, involving the police.
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