Introduction
Coast Medic fully supports tackling violence and aggression against staff and volunteers with the objective of reducing incidents where staff suffer from acts of violence and/or aggression. Violence and aggression towards staff, volunteers or contractors are a crime and will not be tolerated. Coast Medic will press the Police and Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) for the maximum possible penalty for anyone who behaves in a violent, aggressive, or abusive way to our staff.
Coast Medic operates a policy giving the option of withholding treatment from violent and abusive patients if they continue to act in an inappropriate manner.
This policy aims to establish the arrangements, for managers and staff, for reducing the risk of abuse/violence and should be read before any deployment.
Coast Medic recognises that it has a responsibility to provide, as far as is reasonably practicable, a safe working environment. Due to the nature of our work, the business acknowledges the risk of potential aggression or violence exists and will actively pursue ways of reducing these risks to any staff and volunteers. However, Coast Medic cannot control all the premises that our staff and volunteers enter.
Policy Purpose
The document sets out the Businesses policy for dealing with violence and aggression where it is likely to, or does affect, Coast Medic staff and volunteers and contractors during their work. The Orgniastion will not tolerate violence and aggression towards its staff, Volunteers or contractors and will provide support to those staff that are affected.
Duties
Duties within the Organisation
The Chief Executive has overall responsibility for the health, safety, and well-being of all Coast Medic staff and volunteers.
Health & Safety Officer
The Health and Safety Officer is responsible for:
Working with the Police/CPS in the applying of a range of sanctions against those responsible for violence and aggression against our staff, where there has been a security incident or loss and/or damage has occurred.
Ensure that the reporting and, where necessary the investigation, of acts of violence and aggression against our staff and volunteers to outside agencies are completed as required.
Managers
Managers are responsible for ensuring that:
Overall risk assessments are in place in relation to potential violence and aggression. Where there are specific local circumstances such as nightclubs, music festivals or special events, the Operational Manager will need to carry out a risk assessment to assess the level of risk of aggression or violence at these events. This information and any consequent action plans must be conveyed to staff (including to ensure that any risk assessments undertaken by the organiser of the event will be passed on to staff and volunteers including the Health & Safety Team).
All staff and volunteers whose role encounters the public receive the necessary violence and aggression information, instruction, and training, including annual conflict resolution training.
Managers must ensure that procedures are in place to minimise risks to staff and that suitable training and support mechanisms are available. This includes the updating of records of known violent individuals and addresses and ensuring that this information is available and disseminated.
Managers will co-ordinate relevant referrals and/or staff support to staff and volunteers that encounter violence and aggression while at work.
Managers must ensure that all incidents, near misses relating to violence and aggression are reported and accurately documented in accordance with incident reporting policy and where appropriate, report these to the Police/HSE.
Ensure that staff are made aware of all Policies and Procedures for reporting, actions, and support in relation to violence and aggression.
Managers must investigate all violent or aggressive incidents that cause injury or damage to staff or to Business property within the timescales outlined in the Management of Incidents Policy. Managers must consider the results of all investigations to ensure that learning is shared across the whole Business.
Where staff and volunteers are subjected to abuse or threats over the phone Managers must ensure that staff and volunteers are aware of the procedures in place to terminate the call.
Where staff have been subjected to physical or non-physical abuse at a patient’s home address, Managers will co-ordinate with the Operational Manager
Staff
All staff and volunteers are responsible for following any instruction by the Business or other Authorities to protect themselves and others from the risk of violence or aggression by:
Not putting themselves at any unnecessary risk by following any approach which they are not qualified or prepared for.
Ensuring that when arriving at an incident where the risk of violence is clearly visible, to move to a safe position and immediately inform EOC of their actions, and only provide emergency medical treatment WHEN IT IS SAFE TO DO SO. In addition:
▪ Employees should not enter a known hostile, violent or dangerous environment. (e.g. fight still in progress), unless supported by the police.
▪ For incidents reported to involve firearms or weapons (e.g. knives) staff will proceed to a designated rendezvous point and meet up with Police. The Police will then advise on when staff can proceed to the scene of the incident. However, it is important to be aware that it is not possible to eliminate all risks and there may still be an element of danger present.
Never underestimate the threat of violence nor should it be responded to aggressively as this may increase the risk of confrontation.
Where a dog or a potentially dangerous animal is present at the patient’s address, staff should request that the dog/animal be safely secured prior to their entry. It is now a criminal offence if a dog attacks a member of staff and this should be reported to the police.
Staff and volunteer should avoid confrontation and do all that is reasonably possible to diffuse a potentially violent or aggressive situation in line with their training.
Staff and volunteers should not attempt to deal with a dangerous or aggressive patient or member of the public but inform Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) via radio or mobile phone, of the situation and withdraw to a safe location and await assistance.
If an volunteer or staf suffers an injury because of intentional physical violence, details should be passed to EOC as soon as possible who will notify the nearest manager and On Call Duty Officer.
Report all incidents of violence or aggression appropriately in accordance with the Businesses incident reporting procedures.
If an volunteer or staf wishes action to be taken by the Police against an individual in relation to any incident of violence and aggression, it is their responsibility to make a formal complaint to the Police so the Police can instigate appropriate action. Your line manager will assist you in this process.
All staff have the right to refuse to convey any patient(s) who offers verbal abuse, are aggressive or threaten violence. However, there are certain clinical conditions where it is possible that the patient may present in a violent way (e.g. a post ictal state, head injury, seizure) and these patients should be approached with caution, continually risk assessing the situation, and treated according to their condition. Where there are no known clinical conditions the following procedures will apply:
Withdraws to a safe distance
If en route to hospital and the patient becomes aggressive / threatening, stop the vehicle where safe to do so and offer the patient the option of exiting the vehicle. (note: where the journey involves a motorway progress should be made to the nearest exit before stopping – due regard must be given to the patient’s safety).
Notify eoc who will inform the police.
Record the details of the incident fully on the trust incident reporting system.
Complete a patient clinical record with as much detail as possible with regards to the patient’s condition.
It is important to remember the patient has the right to refuse treatment
Risk Assessments
This Policy will require that risk assessments be undertaken.
To prevent, wherever possible, risks to staff and volunteers from violence and aggression.
To ensure that staff and volunteers their representatives are involved in the risk assessment process and are kept fully informed of the outcome of the assessments and the steps to reduce risk.
To fulfil legal and ethical obligations by ensuring the Business is aware of the safety issues from incidents of violence and aggression.
To protect staff from all forms of violence and/or aggression whenever possible.
To provide aftercare, should staff be subjected to violence and/or aggression.
Staff are provided with training to enable them to avoid and/or deal with actual or potential violence.
That the training needs of staff and volunteer are appropriately assessed and that all staff and volunteers can access the Businesses Conflict Resolution Training sessions.
Training
Coast Medic is responsible for ensuring the adequate provision of training for matters related to health, safety, and wellbeing to all staff and volunteers via:
The Health and Safety Team, who are responsible for identifying training needs for all staff. The training needs must consider the major source of risk to staff from a Violence and Aggression Perspective (e.g. incidents where there have been physical assaults against staff)).
It is the responsibility of the Health and Safety Team to ensure the training needs and contents remain current and fit for purpose.
The appropriate commissioning of training and development will be done in consultation with the Induction Training Programme.
Ensure that all staff are provided with Conflict Resolution Training* (CRT) so that they can recognise, avoid, and diffuse potentially violent situations.
Undertake periodic review of this training considering experience of the actual incidents of staff involved in violent and abusive incidents.