PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Peter Lepping
AU  - Srinivas VN Lanka
AU  - Jim Turner
AU  - Stephen ERS Stanaway
AU  - Murali Krishna
TI  - Percentage prevalence of patient and visitor violence against staff in high-risk UK medical wards
AID  - 10.7861/clinmedicine.13-6-543
DP  - 2013 Dec 01
TA  - Clinical Medicine
PG  - 543--546
VI  - 13
IP  - 6
4099  - http://www.rcpjournals.org/content/13/6/543.short
4100  - http://www.rcpjournals.org/content/13/6/543.full
SO  - Clin Med2013 Dec 01; 13
AB  - Patient and visitor violence adversely affects staff and organisations; however, there are few UK data about patient and visitor violence on medical wards. Therefore, we conducted a cross-sectional study using a validated tool (Survey of Violence Experienced by Staff) in six medical wards in three North Wales district general hospitals to assess the prevalence of violence against healthcare staff. A total of 158 staff responded (12 men, 144 women, two not stated). We found that, within the previous 4 weeks, 83% of staff had experienced verbal aggression, 50% had been threatened and 63% had been physically assaulted. Of those assaulted, 56% sustained an injury, with three requiring medical assessment or treatment. Length of experience in the workplace correlated negatively with verbal abuse, but not with threats or assaults. Direct patient contact positively correlated with more overall incidents. There was no correlation between training in aggression management and the experience of incidents. Healthcare support workers and nurses reported a higher prevalence of patient and visitor violence compared with other groups of health worker.