NHS Protect figures show Guy's and St Thomas' is one of the safest hospitals to work

Statistics published today by NHS Protect show that the number of physical assaults against Guy’s and St Thomas’ staff has seen a reduction of 8 per cent (from 152 assaults in 2010/11 to 140 in 2011/12). In comparison, the figures for acute trusts across England have risen by 15.6% (from 13,436 to 15,536). The English figures for the NHS as a whole show a small increase of 3.3% (from 57,830 to 59,744).

In 2011/12 there were just 12 assaults per 1,000 staff at the Trust compared with the English acute trust average of 20 assaults per 1,000 staff. In 2010/11 the figures were 13.6 and 16.8 respectively.

“I’m happy to see the figures – which were already low for a trust of our size – have gone down even further,” says Jayne King, Head of Security. “Our staff are loyal and hardworking, and we have a responsibility for their security and wellbeing which we take extremely seriously. We seek sanctions against the perpetrators and work with the local police to encourage prosecutions, wherever possible. Over the last year we have increased the levels of conflict resolution training for both hospital and community staff and invested in extra measures to improve staff and patient safety.”

During 2011/12 the Trust has invested in its security systems, including the installation of swipe and proximity card access systems, intruder alarms, CCTV, and local panic alarms.

As well as protecting staff and patients, these measures have:

• Reduced the number of thefts, excepting cycle theft, by 35.5% (from 330 in 2011/11 to 213 in 2011/12)
• Reduced financial losses by 45% (from £73,968 in 2011/11 to £40,823 in 2011/12)

Guy’s and St Thomas’ is one of the largest hospital trusts with 12,500 staff, and a turnover of £1.1 billion.

NHS Protect’s violence against NHS Staff 2011/12 statistics are available at www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/3645.aspx