Personal Safety for Health Care Workers

Despite evidence of violence against health-care workers, some employers have been slow to acknowledge the risks faced in both primary and secondary health-care settings. This text provides the tools to investigate the risks involved and develop policy to ensure staff safety.

This book is aimed at employers, managers and professional and administrative staff in the health care services. GP practices, home visits and the hospital are all covered. Despite growing evidence of violence against health care workers, some employers have been slow to acknowledge the risks faced in both primary and secondary health care settings. Personal Safety for Health Care Workers provides the tools to investigate the risks involved and to develop policy and practice to ensure staff safety. It also deals with the vexed question of under-reporting. Part I deals with the respective roles and responsibilities of employers and employees and offers guidance on developing a workplace personal safety policy. Workplace design and management are addressed and guidelines provided for health care workers when away from their normal work base. Part 2 gives detailed guidelines for use by individual workers in a variety of work situations. Part 3 considers training issues and contains a number of sample training programmes with handouts. The message of this book is that prevention is better than cure - proper attention to risk can reduce both the incidence of aggression and its development into violent acts. The aim is to achieve the dual effect of protecting health care workers, and also of providing services in a more sensitive way. Good practice implies a responsibility to ensure that health care can be delivered in conditions of safety for staff and patients alike.