Cumbria Constabulary joins forces to make our Hospitals safer
Tuesday, 16 September, 2008
Andrew Adams - Estates Information Mananger, Assistant Chief Constable Graham Sunderland, Jonathan Wood - Director of Finance and Executive Director for Security, PCSO Lynsey Eland, Martin Shields - Non-Executive Director and Vice-Chair, PC William Linn,
North Cumbria University Hospitals NHS Trust is joining forces with Cumbria Constabulary to launch their effective Respect campaign in our hospitals in order to further reduce anti-social behaviour and maintain the utmost safety for our staff, patients and visitors.
Respect will take forward our current Zero Tolerance Policy which already sets out a clear message that North Cumbria University Hospitals NHS Trust will not tolerate acts of aggression or abuse whether verbal or physical.
Respect is a campaign that was adopted by Cumbria Constabulary with the aim of promoting responsible behaviour throughout the county. It is about every citizen working together to build a society in which we can Respect one another to build safer, stronger communities.
The theme of our Respect campaign will be:
"Working to inspire trust and confidence in our hospital services so that our staff, patients and visitors feel safe, satisfied and reassured."
There will be a number of campaigns running throughout the hospitals through the year including:
• Publicising the role of our new Local Security Management Specialist John Mitchell
• Encouraging staff to report any anti-social incidents so that the Trust can take appropriate action
• Developing a new staff suggestion scheme on how security can be improved
• Joining the successful Pubwatch Schemes in Carlisle and Whitehaven. Anyone who is arrested and subsequently prosecuted will be referred to the scheme and may be banned from all licences premises in the area and all sporting grounds and venues, including Brunton Park
• Working closely with the Community Police Officers nominated to police and protect our hospitals
• Promoting our Security Management Service
• Improving security in our car-parks - both hospitals have recently received Safer Parking Awards. West Cumberland Hospital received its first award this year
Exhibition stands, pop-up banners and a new poster signage campaign are to be launched in the hospital so that the Respect message is visible to all our staff, patients and visitors.
The campaign will be formally launched at 1.45pm on Monday 15 September in the Atrium at the Cumberland Infirmary. Graham Sunderland, Assistant Chief Constable of Cumbria Constabulary, and Jonathan Wood, the Director of Finance for North Cumbria University Hospitals NHS Trust, who is the nominated Executive Director for security at the hospitals, will be attending the launch.
Between August 2007 and August 2008, there were 417 reported incidents that involved verbal or physical abuse at our hospitals or damage to NHS property.
These included:
• 183 reported incidents of patients verbally abusing staff (80 at the Cumberland Infirmary and 103 at West Cumberland Hospital)
• 124 reported incidents of patients physically abusing staff (81 at the Cumberland Infirmary and 43 at West Cumberland Hospital)
• 7 reported incidents of racial abuse (four at the Cumberland Infirmary and three at West Cumberland Hospital)
• 21 reported incidents of relatives abusing staff (12 at the Cumberland Infirmary and nine at West Cumberland Hospital)
• 2 reported incidents of relatives verbally abusing a patient (one each at both hospitals)
• 22 reported incidents of patients physically abusing other patients (12 at the Cumberland Infirmary and 10 at West Cumberland Hospital)
• 14 reported incidents of patients verbally abusing other patients (four at the Cumberland Infirmary and 10 at West Cumberland Hospital)
Jonathan Wood, Director of Finance, said: "We are delighted to be supporting Cumbria Constabulary by adopting the Respect campaign. We are working very closely with Cumbria Constabulary and value the support their officers give to us in dealing with incidents.
"It is crucial that our staff, patients and visitors report incidents to us so that we can tackle this problem. Hospitals are for healthcare and we want to create an environment where all our staff, patients and visitors feel safe and protected."
Assistant Chief Constable Graham Sunderland said: "I am delighted that the Respect campaign continues to grow and is being adopted by other organisations in Cumbria. Incidents of anti-social behaviour against hospital staff who are caring for the communities of Cumbria will not be tolerated. It is vital that we continue to work together in partnership so that we can challenge the small minority of people who believe it is acceptable to act in an anti-social manner."
