Abuse of hospital staff - Tolerating violence is no solution

LAST year 589 hospital workers outside Dublin were attacked in the course of their work. A mere 14 of those cases were reported to the gardaí, and eight of those resulted in convictions.

In 10 of the 589 instances, doctors were assaulted — five verbally and five physically. Thus the bulk of the incidents involved other members of staff, who are literally on the frontline. The severity of the assaults ranged from a tongue lashing to nurses requiring

hospitalisation as a result of being punched or kicked. Some had teeth knocked out, or were concussed.

Those incidents took place at 12 hospitals across the country.

Only five of those hospitals reported the assaults to the gardaí. Others, such as Ennis General Hospital, where 13 physical assaults took place during 2007, did not file formal complaints with gardaí.

Incidents at only two hospitals — Cork University Hospital (CUH) and Tralee General Hospital (TGH) — resulted in court cases, or convictions. All three of the violent incidents at CUH last year led to court cases while five of 198 incidents at Tralee over the past two years resulted in successful prosecutions.

Gardaí are frequently called for assistance if a patient is behaving violently in the emergency department. A hospital spokesman suggested that the dearth of formal complaints was probably because the incidents were not deemed serious enough to report.

In many instances the patients, or those accompanying them, are probably traumatised.

Some of the incidents were not reported to the gardaí because of the medical condition of the assailants. There were 275 incidents in three mental health institutions, but none of those were reported to gardaí.

Professor Patricia Casey, consultant psychiatrist at the Mater Hospital in Dublin, explained that incidents in psychiatric services are not normally reported unless somebody is seriously injured, as the assailants are not considered fully responsible for their actions.

In A&E, some people probably panicked if they thought they or their loved ones were not receiving the prompt attention that they thought they required. That said, hospital staff must be protected from physical harm and from the perception that such outrageous and violent behaviour is the way to secure prompt treatment.

Violent behaviour should not be tolerated anywhere, but especially in a hospital. The lethal dangers of HIV are obvious. In Britain, some hospital staff are actually being issued with stab-proof vests for protection.

Frustration with our health service may be understandable, but tolerating violence or threatening behaviour will solve nothing. Such conduct must be stamped out in the interest of health workers, patients and society in general.