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Staff Security 2018-23

Reference: 24-25234

Date response sent: 13/09/2024

Details of enquiry

  1. How much money was spent by your trust on private security for the protection of staff in the following years?: 2018 – 2023
  • By private security I’m asking for the money spent on security for the protection of staff outside of the usual hospital ground’s security (opening and closing ground facilities etc). If this is provided as part of a wider PFI contract and cannot be extrapolated please let me know. I appreciate in some cases private security will have been brought in especially for the protection of staff and in other cases will be part of a wider remit.
  1. How many attacks were recorded on members hospital/ambulance staff by non-hospital staff in the same years?: 2018-2023
  • Where your trust does not operate a hospital site I am asking for the costs of any security hired for the protection of staff outside of hospital grounds such as outpatient visits.
  • I am classing hospital/ambulance staff as those directly employed by the hospital or ambulance trust.
  • I am classing non-hospital staff as patients, visitors, members of the public not employed by the hospital.
  • When I ask for the amount of attacks I am talking about the total number of physical and verbal assaults made by non-hospital staff (defined above) on hospital staff (defined above).  This would include sexual assaults as well.
  1. If recorded, what was the nature of these incidents (verbal/physical/racial etc)? 2018-2023

Response sent

  1. How much money was spent by your trust on private security for the protection of staff in the following years?: 2018 – 2023
  • By private security I’m asking for the money spent on security for the protection of staff outside of the usual hospital ground’s security (opening and closing ground facilities etc). If this is provided as part of a wider PFI contract and cannot be extrapolated please let me know. I appreciate in some cases private security will have been brought in especially for the protection of staff and in other cases will be part of a wider remit.

The Trust confirms that it has not hired private security services for the protection of staff during the years 2018-2023.

  1. How many attacks were recorded on members hospital/ambulance staff by non-hospital staff in the same years?: 2018-2023
  • Where your trust does not operate a hospital site I am asking for the costs of any security hired for the protection of staff outside of hospital grounds such as outpatient visits.
  • I am classing hospital/ambulance staff as those directly employed by the hospital or ambulance trust.
  • I am classing non-hospital staff as patients, visitors, members of the public not employed by the hospital.
  • When I ask for the amount of attacks I am talking about the total number of physical and verbal assaults made by non-hospital staff (defined above) on hospital staff (defined above).  This would include sexual assaults as well.

Please kindly note that we do not employ ambulance staff.

The Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust is a specialist mental health Trust, and not a hospital.  We provide outpatient, and mainly psychological, services.  We do not provide acute services, nor inpatient patient services, nor detention facilities, and do not have an A&E department.

The number of attacks that were recorded on Trust staff by non-hospital staff by year is as follows:

2018 – 116

2019 – 123

2020 – 63

2021 – 76

2022 – 51

2023 – 63

  1. If recorded, what was the nature of these incidents (verbal/physical/racial etc)? 2018-2023
  • Q3 is asking for a breakdown of these physical and verbal attacks by incident type. I am requesting this information where available and accept it will be recorded differently on a trust by trust basis.
  1. Can I request all the above information be provided by calendar year

a. 2018

  • 15 x Aggressive behaviour (not assault) by patient;
  • 61 x Physical Abuse/Assault by patient (inc alleged);
  • 3 x Physical or Verbal Abuse by Non Patient (inc alleged);
  • 5 x Verbal Abuse by Patient (inc alleged);
  • 32 x Violence Against Staff

b. 2019

  • 19 x Aggressive behaviour (not assault) by patient;
  • 72 x Physical Abuse/Assault by Patient (inc alleged);
  • 11 x Physical or Verbal Abuse by Non Patient (inc alleged);
  • 4 x  Verbal Abuse by Patient (inc alleged);
  • 17 x Violence Against Staff

c. 2020

  • 6 x Abusive telephone call;
  • 3 x Aggressive behaviour (not assault) by patient;
  • 2 x Online trolling, social media;
  • 27 x Physical Abuse/Assault by Patient (inc alleged);
  • 4 x Physical or Verbal Abuse by Non Patient (inc alleged);
  • 2 x Transphobic literature;
  • 4 x Verbal Abuse by Patient (inc alleged);
  • 15 x Violence Against Staff

d. 2021

  • 6 x Abusive telephone call;
  • 5 x Aggressive behaviour (not assault) by patient;
  • 2 x Online trolling, social media;
  • 37 x Physical Abuse/Assault by Patient (inc alleged);
  • 2 x Physical or Verbal Abuse by Non Patient (inc alleged);
  • 5 x Verbal Abuse by Patient (inc alleged);
  • 19 x Violence Against Staff

e. 2022

  • 5 x Abusive telephone call;
  • 9 x Aggressive behaviour (not assault) by patient;
  • 3 x Online trolling, social media;
  • 14 x Physical Abuse/Assault by Patient (inc alleged);
  • 3 x Physical or Verbal Abuse by Non Patient (inc alleged);
  • 1 x Transphobic literature;
  • 3 x Verbal Abuse by Patient (inc alleged);
  • 13 x Violence Against Staff

f. 2023

  • 1 x abusive telephone call;
  • 9 x Aggressive behaviour (not assault) by patient;
  • 18 x Physical Abuse/Assault by Patient (inc alleged);
  • 3 x Physical or Verbal Abuse by Non Patient (inc alleged);
  • 2 x Transphobic literature;
  • 8 x Verbal Abuse by Patient (inc alleged);
  • 22 x Violence Against Staff

 

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