The figures were revealed in response to a request made by Express under the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011.
Officials who compiled the data have “recognised that those working in health and social care settings may be exposed to incidents of violence and aggression more frequently than in other workplaces”, but said HCS employees are encouraged to report incidents and raise concerns.
An awareness campaign, with staff workshops, training sessions and surveys, is also underway in HCS to stamp out racism in the department after Chief Officer Chris Bown said that racial abuse which was so bad it “would make you weep” was “plaguing” the General Hospital.
Senior leaders have since committed to making the organisation more inclusive, saying HCS would not tolerate any racist or discriminatory behaviours or beliefs.
Seven extensions
This is not the first time Express has sought data under the Freedom of Information Law in its mission to publicise the extent of violence and abuse our health workers face.
This most recent request – which was submitted in May – resulted in seven extensions to the standard response time of 20 days.
Now public, the annual figures for recorded incidents of abuse towards HCS staff each year since 2020 to date show that the numbers are on the rise.
The figures include incidents across HCS facilities, and in community settings.
Those for 2020 and 2021 must also be considered in the context of reduced patient numbers due to pandemic restrictions – but this does not bear on the 2022, 2023 and 2024 numbers.
Verbal abuse
Verbal abuse and harassment reached a four-year high in 2023 with 117 recorded incidents, but there have already been 88 so far in 2024.
A total of 99 incidents in 2022 suggests this number is on the rise.
Racial abuse
While the number of recorded incidents of racism against hospital staff is lower, senior leaders at HCS have said that any number above zero is still too many.
At a recent Health and Community Services Advisory Board meeting, Mr Bown said: “Racial abuse is something we must rid ourselves of.
“Discrimination results in poor care for patients.”
From 14 incidents in 2022 to 15 incidents in 2023, there have been 17 in 2024 to date.
The data also revealed that some of the incidents in the past three years have resulted in psychological harm.
Physical abuse
The number of physical assaults recorded follows a similar, worrying trend.
A total of 272 in 2022 rose to 310 in 2023 – and there have been 114 to date in 2024.
Four of these attacks from last year resulted in “moderate” physical harm, and one this year has seen a member of HCS staff suffer “severe physiological harm”.
Police calls
Despite these increases, the number of times that the States police have been called to deal with incidents at the hospital has fallen to its lowest level for five years in 2023.
The police were called only 51 times in 2023, almost half the 93 times the force were called in 2022 – and less than 70 and 65 times called in 2020 and 2021 respectively.
Nevertheless, officials are encouraging HCS employees to report incidents and raise concerns.
Their statement accompanying the information read: “It is recognised that those working in health and social care settings may be exposed to incidents of violence and aggression more frequently than in other workplaces.
“HCS acknowledges its responsibilities under the Health and Safety at Work (Jersey) Law 1989 in providing a safe and secure working environment, as far as is reasonably practicable.”
Its ‘Prevention and Management of Violence and Aggression at Work Policy’ helps HCS to meet this responsibility, it added, and a range of training is provided, including Maybo training for employees in clinical and client-facing roles.
Pictured: Chris Bown is the Chief Officer of Health.
The statement continued: “HCS employees are encouraged to report incidents and raise any concerns that they may have.”
User guides and training are available for the incident reporting system, and staff have access to a dedicated ‘Freedom to Speak Up Guardian’, and concerns may be logged anonymously.
The Chief Officer also maintains an ‘open-door’ policy to all HCS staff, should they wish to speak on any matter.
The statement concluded: “These avenues and detail of workshops to attend, HCS Team Talks (open to all employees) and links to HCS Wellbeing services are regularly communicated through organisation-wide emails.”
GET IN TOUCH…
Are you a member of Health staff who has experienced abuse at work? Could anything be done to make you to feel safer?
The Express team is happy to speak in confidence – email editor@bailiwickexpress.com.