Bodycams for hospital staff in bid to stop abuse

Staff at a hospital in South Yorkshire have been given wearable body cameras in a bid to deter abuse.

The cameras would be available to all staff at Rotherham Hospital, but would be particularly used by those in urgent and emergency care, a spokesperson said.

Recording by the cameras would begin whenever they were activated by the user, they added.

Lynsey Maton, head of nursing for urgent and emergency care at the hospital, said: "Violence and aggression is on the up. I come into an incident on most days where staff have been abused physically or verbally."

“It has always been there, but because we’re reporting it now, staff are feeling supported," Ms Maton added.

"We’re doing something about it – they’ve got the cameras for assurance."

Ms Maton said that it was a “very sad state” that the cameras were necessary, but overall she believed the move towards using cameras was positive.

During a trial of the cameras at the hospital earlier this year, South Yorkshire Police prosecuted one person and the trust which runs the site took action against a further 16 people, including bans from the hospital.

Ms Maton described the trial as “successful” and said the trust had ordered cameras for the next three years, after which time the project would be evaluated.

“If we feel threatened, we will tell a patient we’re about to put a camera on," she said.

"More often than not, it does seem to de-escalate the situation. But they are pre-warned that the camera will be turned on and then that footage can be used for South Yorkshire Police.”

The order of 20 cameras for Rotherham Hospital staff cost about £19,500.

Michael Wright, managing director of Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We are committed to ensuring our colleagues feel secure while caring for our patients and tackling the abuse they face.

“By funding and using these cameras, we hope to encourage more positive conduct towards our colleagues by those visiting or using our services.”

In 2023, almost 14% of NHS staff reported that they had experienced at least one incident of physical violence from patients, service users, relatives or other members of the public.

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