Latest news with #staffsafety
BBC News
30-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
Two attacks on Whitemoor prison staff prompts police inquiry
Two members of prison staff are receiving hospital treatment after being happened at the high-security HMP Whitemoor in March, Cambridgeshire, on Tuesday and Wednesday, the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) are investigating what happened, with the MOJ condemning the attacks as "unacceptable"."We will not tolerate assaults on hard-working prison officers and will always push for the strongest punishments against perpetrators," the ministry said. It confirmed a member of staff was injured on Tuesday and a prison officer was hurt in a separate attack the following day. Follow Cambridgeshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
BBC News
27-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
Cumberland Council to launch new campaign to stop worker abuse
A fresh campaign aimed at stopping council staff being abused by the public has been announced, after incidents almost doubled in a reports included one worker being pushed down an embankment and another nearly being crushed when a lorry drove through a closed Council's assistant director of highways and transport, Karl Melville, said staff "have the right to go to work, do their job and come home without being abused".Last year, a similar campaign featured posters of council workers' children placed near roadworks, to remind drivers that those working there have families. Incidents of abuse also saw council staff fitted with a recent council meeting, Mr Melville told members a lorry went through a road closure at a bridge in Sebergham, nearly crushing one of the workers on the bridge, while in a separate incident a vehicle travelled through a road closure and collided with the back of a to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, monthly figures showed incidents of council workers being abused shot up from 34 in March to 64 in April. Mr Melville said the council has "also had situations where half-eaten food has been thrown at our staff while they're doing their work"."That's totally unacceptable," he of the council Mark Fryer said staff safety was a priority, adding the Labour-led council would look at taking private prosecutions "if the police think that it isn't worthy"."We've got to look after our people," Fryer new campaign will be launched over the summer. Follow BBC Cumbria on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
RNZ News
21-05-2025
- Health
- RNZ News
Student midwife attack: 'These after-hours assaults continue to happen'
The Nurses Organisation says Te Whatu Ora must provide a safe working environment for staff after another assault outside Christchurch Hospital. Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon The attack on a student midwife outside Christchurch Hospital's birthing unit has highlighted concerns that have been raised for more than a decade, the New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) says. The staff member was assaulted on the way to their car after leaving work at the Antigua Street unit in the central city, although the assault did not happen on hospital grounds. Te Whatu Ora said staff safety was critical to the organisation, and the College of Midwives backed the efforts of Health New Zealand. But NZNO Christchurch delegate Al Dietschin said the latest attack highlighted the fact that not nearly enough was being done to prevent assaults occurring. "How many incidents do we need to have before the employer acts in the interest of staff in accordance with the Health and Safety Employment Act?" Dietschin said. "They have to provide a safe work environment. They always say health and safety of staff is important, but these after-hours assaults continue to happen." The Tū Waka Waipapa parking building opposite the hospital costs about $25 a day, which was unaffordable for most workers, he said. Following previous assaults, the hospital now offered a minibus shuttle between 9pm and 1am, but staff often had to wait too long for it to arrive, Dietschin said. "Staff are reportedly walking to their cars because they're made to wait 30 minutes or more after working the late shift for the shuttle to arrive. Staff don't feel safe walking to cars after their shift or early morning in the dark, but they're sometimes forced to." Community midwives were now also limited to parking for five hours at the emergency department, which was shocking, Dietschin said. "This used to be available for unlimited time. Now they're forced to ask core staff to relieve them in the middle of a patient's labour so they don't get fined. That's not good for the safety of their patients," he said. "Staff only want safe after-hours parking close to hospital, and we don't want to break the bank for this to happen." College of Midwives chief executive Alison Eddy said Health New Zealand was doing all it could to ensure the safety of staff. "I understand that the facility does have security staff available to escort staff back to their cars, there's absolutely that provision in place," she said. "I think sometimes people might have to wait a little bit to get access to that and people might feel they don't want to do that. But I understand the facility does everything it can to support the safety of its staff and does make that service available already, and in response to this attack... they've stepped up even more support and security to prevent any potential risks." The attack highlighted the risks women faced in Aotearoa, Eddy said. "It's a reflection sadly that we know females are at risk of violence and dark places around hospitals are risky places. That's just the reality of being a female, sadly, in this country. This facility is really aware of that and has done and is continuing to do everything it can to support the safety of everybody who works in those facilities," she said. An email was circulated to staff outlining what had happened, although Health New Zealand would not share details with RNZ because it was not "public information". Waitaha Canterbury director of operations Hamish Brown said the staffer involved was being "well supported". "As a precaution we have increased security measures in this part of the campus to ensure staff, and others who work here, get to their vehicles safely at night," he said. "We continue to remind staff, and others, to take appropriate safety precautions when they leave the hospital campus at night. "At Health NZ, the safety and well-being of our staff, and other workers, is a critical part of delivering quality health care to New Zealanders. We take violence and aggression seriously and our people should expect to come to work and be safe. We encourage them to report all incidents of abuse and assault." Police said the attack did not appear to have been reported to them. "We encourage anyone who is the victim of an assault to make a report online or by calling 105 so police can make enquiries," a spokesperson said. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
BBC News
14-05-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Hospital staff attacked 1,000 times a year in Gloucester and Cheltenham
Staff at two hospitals have been attacked more than 1,000 times a year in total in recent years, figures from a trust have revealed. And staff themselves have been involved in more than 100 violent or verbally abusive incidents on colleagues each year, according to the data from Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation an effort to reduce attacks at Gloucester Royal and Cheltenham General hospitals, the trust has bought 18 body-worn cameras for "hotspot" areas to de-escalate situations and pass evidence to police.A spokesperson for the trust said it was "committed to a safe, inclusive and respectful place to work and to provide care". In total, the trust counted 3,295 violent, aggressive or verbally abusive incidents over the last three financial years, for which it said the triggers number does not include the staff-on-staff incidents, of which there were 442 since 2022/23, according to the Local Democracy Reporting hotspot areas include the emergency department at Gloucestershire Royal approximately 50 per cent of incidents, the trust said, the attack perpetrator is recorded as having capacity, meaning they have the ability to use and understand information to make decisions.A spokeperson for the trust said staff were encouraged to report all incidents of violence and aggression so that action can be taken. Incidents are reviewed weekly by a behaviour standards panel, the spokesperson panel can issue behaviour warning letters, or conditional behaviour trust is also trialling the use of activity coordinators to support vulnerable patients who are more likely to become agitated when visiting hospitals.
