Assaults on Health and Community Services staff (FOI)

​​​​Request

A

How many recorded incidents of violence have there been towards Health and Community Servies (HCS) staff members in a HCS setting each year for the past five years?  |Please break the figures down by staff type.

B

How many of these, if any, have resulted in any form of legal action?

Response

A

Annual figures for recorded incidents of physical abuse / assaults towards staff each calendar year, from 2020 to date, are detailed in Table 1. The figures include incidents across Health and Community Services (HCS) facilities, and in community settings.

​Figures for 2020 and 2021 must be considered in the context of reduced patient numbers, owing to pandemic restrictions and the necessity to limit elective (planned) surgery and outpatient activity.

Table 1

Annual figures for recorded incidents of physical abuse / assaults towards staff each calendar year, from 2020 to date

​* 2024 data relates to period January 2024 to June 2024

Data is derived from the incident reporting system. Incidents of abuse towards non-HCS Government of Jersey staff may be recorded in the system. Details of the staff group or designation of the staff member affected by these incidents was not a category available to report from the database prior to a system update in November 2022, though such information may be documented in the incident notes. It is not possible to exclude any such incidents for non-HCS staff from the annual figures prior to November 2022. 

Figures for staff groups of those affected by incidents of violence, as recorded from November 2022 to June 2024, are detailed in Table 2. 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.

Table 2

Annual figures for staff group of those affected by incidents of violence (physical abuse / assault), as recorded from November 2022 to June 2024

​* 2022 data relates to period November 2022 to December 2022

** 2024 data relates to period January 2024 to June 2024

It is recognised that those working in health and social care settings may be exposed ​to incidents of violence and aggression more frequently than in other workplaces. HCS acknowledges its responsibilities under the Health and Safety at Work (Jersey) Law 1989 in providing a safe and secure working environment, as far as is reasonably practicable. HCS’ Prevention and Management of Violence and Aggression at Work Policy, which aligns with the Department of Health ‘Positive and Safe’ initiative, aims to support the organisation to meet this responsibility. A range of training is provided, including Maybo training for employees in clinical and client-facing roles.

HCS employees are encouraged to report incidents and raise any concerns that they may have. User guides and training are available for the incident reporting system, and staff have access to a dedicated Freedom to Speak Up Guardian; concerns may be logged anonymously. The Chief Officer also maintains an ‘open-door’ policy to all HCS staff, should they wish to speak on any matter. These avenues and detail of workshops to attend, HCS Team Talks (open to all employees) and links to HCS Wellbeing services are regularly communicated through organisation-wide emails. 

B

No records of any claim or legal action have been identified.

Article Applied

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 2005.

(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 2005; and

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