Assaults up on helping hands

Assaults against hospital staff are increasing, with patients using everything from knives to coffee as weapons.

Figures released under the Official Information Act reveal almost 3000 assaults by patients were recorded at 14 of New Zealand's 21 district health boards last year.

The most violent included patients punching and kicking staff, throwing hot coffee in their faces, threatening them with hidden needles and, in one case, pushing a wheelchair-bound patient into a door.

Staff were threatened with knives on at least four occasions, and another declared he had a pistol in his car.

Counties Manukau DHB recorded 1304 assaults last year, with 81 resulting in physical harm.

A spokeswoman said the problem was getting worse, with 266 incidents between January and March this year, compared to 51 over the same period in 2006.

"However, our reporting processes have changed and this increase may in part be due to improved capture of information."

Employees also received safety education and the number of security staff employed had increased.

Canterbury DHB manager of corporate services Murray Dickson said about 400 of the 625 assaults it recorded involved patients with mental health issues.

"Cases where real weapons such as knives or guns are used are extremely rare.

"The incidents are generally low level and include examples of verbal abuse and low level violence such as striking [and] pushing."

The Northland DHB reported 87 violent incidents, most of which were "relatively minor" and occurred at Whangarei Hospital's mental health inpatient unit.

The Southland DHB, which recorded 140 incidents, said mental illness, higher public expectation and long waiting times were contributing factors.

New Zealand Nurses Organisation chief executive Geoff Annals said patients' mental health was no excuse for the increase in attacks. The union - which represents more than 42,000 people - believed many hospitals brushed the problem under the carpet.

"There is a tradition of discounting violence in hospitals as sick people who don't know what they are doing, but in our experience most of those people know exactly what they are doing.

"Many assaults are no different from an assault on the street, and there's a tendency to look for excuses.

"There are no excuses."

Unsafe work

Suzanne rolls has seen many violent incidents while working in a hospital emergency department.

The New Zealand Nursing Organisation's professional nursing advisor said her experiences led her to conduct a research paper, collating anecdotal evidence from health workers on why they feel unsafe in the workplace.

Her research indicated there were "many" cases where staff were physically assaulted, and she found there was not enough support, education or policies to ensure those people were safe.

While the Counties Manukau board recorded the most violent attacks last year, she said it was probably due to them having an efficient policy that encouraged staff to report abuse.

HOSPITAL ATTACKS

Number of physical and violent assaults at hospitals in 2008, by district health board

Counties Manukau - 1304
Canterbury - 625
Waitemata - 489
Nelson Marlborough - 233
Southland - 140
Capital & Coast - 128
Hawke's Bay - 109
Northland - 87
Taranaki - 59
Bay of Plenty - 53
Mid Central - 53
Tairawhiti - 22
Otago - 13
West Coast - 7

Includes violence between patients. Remaining boards did not supply requested information within statutory timeframe