Sue Ferguson Director Workforce Safety

Mark Parigi MOVAIT Coordinator

Context of Violence & Aggression in the Health Sector from a Regional Perspective.

What is Occupational Violence & Aggression?

• Occupational violence and aggression is an action or

incident that physically or psychologically harms

another person. It includes situations where staff and

other people are threatened, attacked or physically

assaulted within the workplace.

• Non-physical violence, such as verbal abuse,

intimidation and threatening behaviour, may also

significantly affect a person’s health and wellbeing.

• This definition covers assault by a person who may

not be able to form intent, but is capable of violence.

Mental Health Statistics HACSU & University of Melbourne

The research conducted by the University of Melbourne covered 384 randomly selected participants across all mental health occupations, a spread of ages and including participants in metropolitan and regional Victoria.

34% of staff have been physically assaulted in the last 12 months 83% of staff have been victims of some form of violence in the last

12 months. In the last 12 months 81% of staff have been verbally assaulted 90% of staff who have distress have had to take sick leave. 31% of staff report being bullied. 32% of staff say they are exhibiting forms of psychological stress. Of

these, 55% report severe psychological distress.

Copyright © 2014 Health and Community Services Union

• Reporting has shown increases in V&A at BH since 2011 requiring Code Grey responses.

655 663706

932

740

0

100

200

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2011 2012 2013 2014 Aug-15

Incidents

• Physical/Verbal Assaults Reported-Non Code Grey at BH 2013/14

473

619

223

275

0

100

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700

Year 2013 2014

Physical/Verbal 2013-14

Physical Verbal

The Impact of exposure!! Over a 2 year period there were 9 claims as a result of Violence & Aggression

• 4 Standard • 5 Minor

Combined Cost for standard claims is currently $393,000

WORKCOVER

Why is this the case?

• Drugs & Alcohol• Technology• Design• More Mental Health Presentations• Accessibility• Community Expectations

Community Expectations !!

Healthcare workers face a dilemma-refusing service may endanger life and calling Police may be seen as an overreaction.Particularly if the incident is a result of a clinical condition (VAGO 2015)

Why does a Health Care Worker accept this as part of the Job?

Would other industries accept this as acceptable behavior?

Would you be happy for your Loved ones to be exposed to this Risk?

Building A Safety Culture

Definition

Barnes (2009)

• The values, attitudes, motivations andknowledge that affect the extent to which safety is emphasized over competing goals in decisions and behaviour.

Exposure of our staff to OVA

An example over a 1 month period – 81 Code Greys, 4 staff incidents

Under reporting?

What do we already do well?

MOVAIT, Code Grey, Security

Does culture play a role?

Understanding the risk is only as good as the reporting, and many workers do not report aggression; they perceive it as ‘part of the job’ (Lanza, Schmidt, McMillan, Demaio, & Forester, 2011; Poster & Ryan, 1994) or the reason for patient hospitalization. A recent study found just 16% of events were reported using incident reports, and only half the time were the events verbally communicated to senior staff (Chapman et al., 2009). Only one-third of workers reported events not resulting in injury or restraint (Gates et al., 2006).

Many Definitions of Safety Culture

Lets watch Leadership at work

What Safety Culture is Not

• It’s not separate or different from

organizational culture

• It’s not a “thing” with an objective

existence

• It’s not a policy, program or procedure

VS

Why Do We Care?

Safety culture affects safety performance

• Injury rates

• Accident rates

• Patient safety

• Organisational reputation

• Staff wellness

• Staff retention

• Bottom line

Where do we start?

• What about the past ?• Do we have a problem ?• What do we already do well?• Do we have the systems to change ?• Do we have the support for change, top down

bottom up ?• What does change look like ?• How long will it take ?• How will we measure it ?

Why MOVAIT?

No one likes Violent and Aggressive behaviours!

Such behaviours can cause physical and/or psychological trauma to staff, patients and visitors.

MOVAIT is considered by many the most comprehensive, practical and effective course available in health care for addressing workplace violence and aggression.

How Does MOVAIT Benefit You?

Staff trained in MOVAIT will acquire the skills to confidently manage Violent and Aggressive incidents.

Combination of Theory & Practical Training

Theory Components Include:

What is V&A (Violence & Aggression)Awareness/Self PreservationPreventionCommunication/DefusionDuty of Care/Incident ManagementReporting/RecordingLegal (Crimes Act-OH&S Act 2004)

Consultation occurs to ensure a program is tailored to suit exposure in different organizations or work spaces.

1Hour – 4Hours

Practical Components Include:

Simple Avoidance StrategiesBreakaway TechniquesPersonal Protective StrategiesTeamworkControl & Restraint (Including Mechanical Restraint)

Consultation occurs to ensure a program is tailored to suit exposure in different organizations or work spaces.

1Hour – 3 Days

MOVAIT?

• We have a respected program that provides us with a launching pad for a holistic, consultative, employee engaged approach to;

• Establish a stakeholder working group to consult with the wider workforce, to develop and facilitate cultural change, to look at design and be part of a best practice approach. Listen to our staff.

• Broaden the existing program from staff seeing it as “training” to embracing it as an organizational system of work to eliminate the risk to our staff

• Engage managers to be part of the program, to role model acceptable behavior from top down

• Involve external stakeholders to be involved in eliminating the risk, such as police, ambulance, unions, other health services