KEY POINTS:
Bay of Plenty District Health Board will soon be the latest DHB to automatically screen all women over 16 for signs of family violence.
BOPDHB says it will adopt a programme to screen the women who attend hospital in Tauranga or Whakatane, regardless of their reason for being at hospital.
A majority of DHBs from around the country have adopted the programme over the past four years.
The DHB has approved funding for frontline hospital staff to receive training , meeting a Ministry of Health guideline established in 2002.
BOPDHB family violence coordinator Nicola Chadwick said the programme could start its roll-out within months once staff had been trained.
Statistics showed a growing number of women were experiencing or had experienced domestic violence, she said.
"The majority of women live with it [domestic violence] in a silent, self-blame capacity."
Ms Chadwick said the questionnaire would be presented only if circumstances allow.
The questioning had to be done in complete privacy, with not even a child in the room, she said.
If the woman answered yes during the screening, then her situation would be assessed for safety and she would be encouraged and supported to contact the community family violence agencies, she said.
"Routine screening won't start until our people are trained. It is essential staff feel supported by their peers."
Hawke's Bay DHB clinical director of maternal and child heath Dr Russell Wills said the screening made a difference.
The Hawke's Bay was the first DHB to adopt the screening programme four years ago.
"It works well, it's worthwhile," he said.
Dr Wills said the quality of assessment and referrals had greatly improved because of the screening.
In Hawke's Bay the number of referrals to Child Youth and Family had increased from 40 a year to 200 while the number of referrals to domestic violence services had increased from 60 to 160 a year, because of the screening, he said.
"So few women present themselves in hospitals as being victims of family violence, so this screening gives staff the training to be able to identify abuse when it presents to us."
The screening programme comes as a major television campaign targeting domestic violence is set to be launched this year, in a joint government agency effort.
- NZPA
