Assaults on hospital staff (FOI)

​​Request 668412281

I am writing to request information about assaults on hospital staff in Jersey. 

Specifically, I would like to request the following data:

1. The total number of reported physical, sexual or verbal assaults on hospital staff annually over the past five years (2019–2023)

2. A breakdown of these incidents by:

- Gender of the staff member involved 

- Role of the staff member

3. Any data on the setting of the incidents (e.g., emergency department, inpatient wards, outpatient clinics).

4. Details on the nature of these assaults (e.g., physical assault, verbal abuse, sexual harassment, etc.)

Response

Information on incidents of abuse, aggression or violence toward Health and Community Services (HCS) staff for the timeframe requested have been provided in Freedom of Information responses published to www.gov.je in 2024. Incident data are available for the type of incident and severity recorded, and where possible, figures for staff groups of those reporting incidents of abuse have been provided:

Harassment of hospital staff since 2019 (FOI)

Assaults on Health and Community Services staff (FOI)​

As this information is available elsewhere, Article 23 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 has been applied.

From 2019 to 2023 (inclusive), 20 incidents have been categorised as sexual. Owing to small numbers recorded in several years and the potential for individuals to be identifiable, a breakdown of the annual figures is not provided, and Article 25 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 has been applied to protect the privacy of individuals.

Gender of person(s) affected is not a field option in the incident log. Identifying this information would require manual review of all incident logs and reconciliation with other datasets. A Scheduled Public Authority is not required to create or manipulate data for the purposes of responding to Freedom of Information requests. Furthermore, the time required to perform such manual review of records would exceed the timeframes prescribed. Therefore, Article 16 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 has been applied.

Due to small numbers, it is not possible to provide a detailed breakdown by staff type / designation, as this could lead to the identification of individuals and breach the confidentiality of their personal information. Therefore, Article 25 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 has been applied to protect the privacy of individuals.

Details of location are reported at the level of incidents which occurred within a mental health service or social care setting, or in another area of HCS. Owing to small numbers, a breakdown by more specific location cannot be provided, as individuals may be identifiable. Therefore, Article 25 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 has been applied to protect the privacy of individuals.

Articles applied

​Article 16 - A scheduled public authority may refuse to supply information if cost excessive

(1) A scheduled public authority that has been requested to supply information may refuse to supply the information if it estimates that the cost of doing so would exceed an amount determined in the manner prescribed by Regulations. 

Article 23 - Information accessible to applicant by other means

(1) Information is absolutely exempt information if it is reasonably available to the applicant, otherwise than under this Law, whether or not free of charge.

(2) A scheduled public authority that refuses an application for information on this ground must make reasonable efforts to inform the applicant where the applicant may obtain the information.

Article 25 - Personal information

(1) Information is absolutely exempt information if it constitutes personal data of which the applicant is the data subject as defined in the Data Protection (Jersey) Law 2018.

(2) Information is absolutely exempt information if –

(a) it constitutes personal data of which the applicant is not the data subject as defined in the Data Protection (Jersey) Law 2018; and

(b) its supply to a member of the public would contravene any of the data protection principles, as defined in that Law.​