NHS hospital staff in the UK experience more than 150 incidents of violence and aggression every day. This problem is particularly prevalent in high pressure areas, with a fifth of all incidents taking place in Acute Trusts, which include Accident and Emergency (A&E) departments.
The estimated cost of violence and aggression to the NHS exceeds £69m annually, but this figure does not tell the whole story. Violent and aggressive behaviour affects staff, patients and other service users in a number of different ways. As well as decreasing job satisfaction and patient experience, it can also mask a number of additional costs. These include, for example, the lost investment in training staff who decide to leave, and the specialist security guards now employed by some hospitals to deter and deal with
violence and aggression.
Working in partnership with the Department of Health, the Design Council has run a UK-wide open innovation competition aimed at tackling this issue. The challenge for designers was to identify and develop ways that design can help to reduce violence and aggression towards NHS staff in A&E departments.
You can download a PDF copy of the Reducing violence and aggression in A&E publication or contact us at a&e@designcouncil.org.uk to request a printed copy, ask questions or share your thoughts. Printed publications will be provided free of charge to NHS employees upon request.