Body Cameras Help Reduce Attacks on London Hospital Staff

Body Cameras Help Reduce Attacks on London Hospital Staff

“We want staff to feel safe and supported when they come to work,” said Dame Eileen Sills, chief nurse at Guy’s and St Thomas’s. “Any unprovoked violence and aggression towards staff is unacceptable.”

  • By Jessica Davis
  • January 08, 2019

Body cameras worn by hospital security guards are being credited with helping to reduce attacks on staff at London hospitals, reports the Evening Standard.

There were 219 physical attacks on nurses and other staff at Guy’s and St Thomas’s hospitals between April and September 2017, a decrease from 274 during the same period in 2016.

Security guards began wearing cameras in 2016 after the total number of attacks on nurses and other hospital staff—including verbal assaults—increased 27 percent to 850 between April and September of that year.

The hospital trust is working with the Met Police to encourage hospital staff to report incidents of threats and assault from patients and visitors. Staff have been advised on how to de-escalate potential incidents.

The number of patients excluded from the trust due to breaking “behavior contracts” issued to disruptive patients and visitors has increased from 28 to 29. Those patients will only receive emergency treatment. The number of behavior contracts issued increased from 140 to 236 during the same six months last year.

“We want staff to feel safe and supported when they come to work,” said Dame Eileen Sills, chief nurse at Guy’s and St Thomas’s. “Any unprovoked violence and aggression towards staff is unacceptable.”

In Denmark Hill, King’s College hospital also provides guards with cameras. According to a hospital spokeswoman, the hospital has not seen a decrease in assaults but the footage captured had helped to secure convictions in court.

The maximum jail sentence for assaulting NHS emergency workers was doubled to 12 months in September.

About the Author

Jessica Davis is the Associate Content Editor for 1105 Media.

Featured

  • Rethinking Campus Security From the Inside

    For decades, campus security strategies focused on keeping threats outside school walls. But since the tragedy at Columbine High School, data has shown that many attacks begin inside the building, often in classrooms and corridors. This shift has prompted schools to rethink security from the inside and place greater emphasis on interior elements such as classroom doors. This shift is evidenced by a new generation of classroom door systems engineered to delay inside intruders and an ASTM standard that raises the bar on how these systems must be designed to defend against attack. Read Now

  • AI in Security: Advancing Campus Safety and Considerations for Implementing

    Artificial intelligence (AI) continues to capture attention across every sector, and the physical security industry is no exception. Once seen as experimental, AI-enabled analytics now underpin how organizations monitor environments, detect threats, and make decisions. What was once futuristic is now a practical necessity for safety professionals managing growing volumes of data, tighter resources, and increasing expectations for faster, more accurate responses. Read Now

  • How Cloud Security Solutions Are Transforming Campus Safety

    Campus administrators today face a challenging mandate: deliver stronger security across their facilities while working within tighter budget constraints. From school districts focused on student safety to hospitals protecting patients and staff, the question remains the same: how do you build security infrastructure that evolves with your needs without requiring massive capital investments? Read Now

  • 77% of Americans Support Gun Detection Technology in Schools, Workplaces, and Houses of Worship

    More than three-quarters of Americans (77.4%) believe gun detection technology should be deployed in schools, workplaces, and other public spaces, according to new survey data released recently. The national survey shows strong support for incorporating camera-based gun detection into existing video surveillance systems. Read Now

Most   Popular