QEH staff: One in five suffers abuse, attacks
A WORRYING trend of abuse and attacks on staff at Lynn's Queen Elizabeth Hospital by patients or their relatives appears to be continuing.
Results of a recent staff survey, published in the hospital staff newsletter Viewpoint, show that last year one in five of them suffered harassment, bullying or abuse while going about their work.
Last month alone there had been a further two attacks on QEH staff that resulted in court action against the offenders. A Lynn man who attacked a male charge nurse at the hospital last November received a suspended prison sentence.
A random sample of 423 staff across the hospital trust provided the information for the survey. It showed that almost a third of those subjected to physical violence did not bother reporting it – despite being aware of the NHS's zero tolerance policy and the tough line taken against aggression.
The newsletter says the number of attacks has fallen slightly and the QEH is "broadly in line" with the experiences of other hospitals.
It says: "The majority of us believe, however, that the QEH takes effective action against those who bully or attack us, whether it's patients, their families, members of the public, or even other staff."
A drunken patient from Denver who abused and threatened violence against QEH staff trying to offer him help in the casualty department on the night of March 9 appeared before Lynn magistrates the following day.
Swearing Keith Bidwell (40), who took up a boxer's stance and threatened to fight everyone, admitted being drunk and disorderly. His 50 fine was waived as he had been in custody overnight, but he was ordered to pay 30 costs.
In the same court on March 17, Lynn man Robert Vincent (20) admitted attacking a male charge nurse at the hospital on November 18 last year while drunk.
He was given five months in a young offenders' institution, suspended for 18 months, for the assault and one other, an 18-month community order and told to pay the nurse 75 compensation.
On Thursday, March 20, David Lannary (58), who is living in bed and breakfast accommodation in Lynn, admitted assaulting nurse Denise Hammond in the medical assessment unit the previous day, when he appeared before town magistrates.
The nurse feared she would be headbutted as he grabbed hold of her uniform and pulled her towards him, as nursing staff struggled to get him back to bed. Sentence was adjourned until Thursday, April 10 for a probation report.
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Sunday 27 May 2012
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