Violence Against Staff Will Not be Tolerated

University Hospital of North Staffordshire has seen a 30% increase in incidents of violence against staff this year.  

Much of the increase, which has led to a total of 105 physical assaults against University Hospital staff, can be attributed to increased and better incident reporting within the Trust.  

However, Yin Naing, the Trust's local security management specialist, wants the public to understand the Trust will do everything in its power to protect staff.   Yin said: "Violence or the threat of violence against University Hospital's staff is totally unacceptable. Our staff are committed to providing health services and should not have to suffer violence at work. People who assault NHS staff can and will suffer the legal consequences and we will do all we can to ensure that those who assault staff are prosecuted. We have already brought five criminal sanctions this year and the number of reported assaults is a very serious matter. We will continue to work hard to prevent assaults from occurring and to pursue sanctions following assaults when they do occur." 

Although the figures from University Hospital are comparable to other acute Trusts of a similar size and employee number, Yin and her team are still working hard to reduce assaults. Yin recently held three events to promote staff safety during Security Awareness Month at the Hospital.   Yin said: "The Trust does try to prevent staff being put into dangerous positions through conflict resolution and other training days. To help staff we work with our local neighbourhood police teams and we met nearly 300 staff during three special roadshows during Security Awareness Month. We handed out security related pens, key ring torches, personal safety alarms and information from both the Security Management Service and Police. It's really important we keep the links between the Trust and the police and we work hard to maintain that relationship." 

For further information or assistance please contact Sue Pantin, Communications Manager, on 01782 555400 or Andrew Ashcroft, Communications Manager, on 01782 555061.