SUTTON: Calls for St Helier Hospital to review security after attack on nurse (From This Is Local London)

SUTTON: Calls for St Helier Hospital to review security after attack on nurse

8:57am Thursday 6th November 2008 in

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Nursing leaders are demanding a review of security at St Helier Hospital after a violent patient hurled cleaning fluid in the eye of a worker.

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) is to meet trust bosses to discuss ways of protecting staff against “future incidents of work-related aggression”.

The union intervention comes after a man was allowed to remain at the Carshalton hospital despite attacking a nurse on October 21.

Hours later, he allegedly raided a medicine cabinet and flung a needle bin and a blood pressure machine across the floor.

It is known that a security guard and two healthcare workers at Epsom and St Helier NHS trust have recently been kicked by patients.

Bernell Bussue, nursing director of the RCN in London, is now seeing assurances that the trust has adequate risk-assessments and security measures in place.

He said: “Aggression, intimidation and violence against nurses and other NHS staff is simply unacceptable and the RCN regrets that a member of staff was injured during this serious incident and patients were left feeling unsafe.

“We established links with the trust through our local representatives and we will aim to make sure the environment is as safe as possible, by working with the trust to review its processes, and to ensure nurses involved in this or future incidents are provided with access to counselling and any other support services they may require.”

Unison, the public sector union, also wants NHS managers to be more “proactive” in their response to staff assaulted by patients. But the health service union said it was difficult to combat spontaneous violence without turning hospitals into “fortresses”.

The trust apologised to distressed onlookers and confirmed that the nurse returned to work having avoided serious injury.

A spokesman added: “For confidentiality reasons, we are unable to provide further details about the action taken against the patient.

“It is important to note, however, that the trust takes the safety of staff and patients very seriously and operates a zero tolerance policy when dealing with patients who have committed acts of aggression.”