Flic Blog – 2.28.24
In a recent statement, Prof. Nicola Ranger; the chief nurse at the Royal College of Nursing, issued a serious alert regarding a troubling development: a notable increase in violence directed at nurses within the National Health Service, as per The Guardian’s report. The frustration among patients due to NHS delays, compounded by the aftermath of the pandemic, is fuelling alarming levels of aggressive behavior toward frontline healthcare workers. Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH) – the NHS trust that runs the Queen’s Medical Centre, and its sister City hospital recorded 1,237 incidents of aggression, violence, and harassment in 2021-22. A statistic that has continued to grow with another 1,167 incidents recorded during the first 6 months of 2023. Violence, both verbal and physical, is a prevalent issue in numerous healthcare professions. For instance, the London ambulance service noted a 39% surge in violence against its staff, and the Royal College of Nursing shared alarms about unprecedented levels of aggression towards nurses, leading some to consider leaving their profession. This troubling pattern not only threatens the safety of nurses and frontline workers but also intensifies staff shortages, ultimately compromising patient care which is a huge societal risk. Many have tried providing solutions to this crisis, with varying functionality and efficiency tackling the problem in different ways.
Source: Healthcare Violence on the Rise: How Smart Buttons Can Offer a Path to Safety | Flic Smart Button