Training to help health staff recognise and de-escalate aggressive behaviour is being rolled out as part of a new anti-abuse campaign after almost 500 cases were recorded last year.
The initiative, launched this week by Health and Care Jersey, combines an awareness drive featuring the children of staff on posters, banners, and social media with new internal training for staff led by a specialist.
It comes as newly released figures show that in 2024, there were 496 incidents of verbal, physical, racial and sexual abuse. Of these, 239 were physical attacks and 192 verbal assaults. The remainder included reports of disruptive behaviour and abusive emails or texts.
So far this year, 452 incidents have been reported in the first eight months alone – the equivalent of more than one incident a day.
More than half (238) were physical assaults, including nine reports of sexual abuse, three racial incidents and six cases involving a weapon.
A further 151 verbal abuse cases were recorded, ten of which were racially motivated, five sexual in content and four involved threats to use a weapon.
The campaign materials show six children of healthcare staff alongside messages such as: “My mummy works here. Please keep her safe at work.”
Seven-year-old Ted, whose mum Mel works in the Mental Health team, said: “I feel really happy about my mummy being a nurse because my mummy helps people with their health and helps them feel better.
“My mummy helps lots of people with poorly minds. I want everybody to be kind to my mummy when she is in work because it will make me sad if my mummy is sad.”
Brother and sister Malachi and Michaella, whose father Rufaro is a charge nurse, also feature in the campaign.
I’m proud of my father because his job involves helping people
Michaella
Michaella, a year five pupil at Bel Royal School, said: “I’m proud of my father because his job involves helping people.”
Her brother Malachi, a year seven pupil at De La Salle, added: “I wanted to be in this campaign to highlight the importance of nurses working in a safe environment and not to be abused.”
Alongside the campaign, Health has appointed a clinical co-ordinator to train staff in spotting early signs of aggression and preventing situations from escalating.
Dennis Pimblott, a clinical nurse specialist qualified in the prevention and management of violence and aggression, said: “I hope that I will be able to build confidence and empower colleagues by helping them to understand why a person might become agitated or aggressive.
“I also offer support and debriefing for staff who’ve been involved in difficult situations.”
Health Minister Deputy Tom Binet said: “This campaign is aimed at highlighting the need to protect the dedicated and committed staff who work tirelessly to save lives and care for those in need.
“It should go without saying that healthcare workers should be able to go about their work without being subject to unacceptable behaviour from any member of the public.
“Some patients, through no fault of their own, may act in an aggressive manner while undergoing treatment. This campaign is not geared towards them. Rather, it is focused on those individuals who act disgracefully while fully aware of their behaviour.
“I want to be very clear, HCJ treats any assault against a member of staff very seriously and we have a zero-tolerance approach to any attacks or harassment.”
HCJ treats any assault against a member of staff very seriously and we have a zero-tolerance approach to any attacks or harassment
Health MINISTER TOM BINET
The ambulance service launched its own anti-aggression campaign last year after logging 36 incidents of violence, aggression and intimidation in 2024 – more than in the previous four years combined – before being integrated into Health and Care Jersey in July 2025.
In 2024, Health also launched a “stand against racism” campaign to address a problem previously described by Jersey’s former health chief officer as “so bad it would make you weep”.