Health staff on patrol to stop attacks

STAFF at an NHS hospital are being trained as special constables in a fresh offensive to combat violence in the health service.

In the first programme of its kind, employees at University Hospital Aintree, in Liverpool, will patrol the site as volunteer officers in their spare time.

The move has been welcomed by the government as another weapon in the fight to reduce attacks and crime on medical staff.

More than 84,000 incidents of violence or aggression towards health workers were recorded nationally last year - a rise of 13% on the previous 12 months, according to Unison.

A Department of Health spokeswoman said: "Any violence towards staff is abhorrent and unacceptable. Anything that the hospital and staff do to tackle that, we support wholeheartedly."

The spokeswoman would not be drawn on whether the scheme would be encouraged across the country, if successful, but added: "We will watch it and are always open to any new ideas."

Merseyside Police began recruiting staff at the Liverpool hospital earlier this year and the first volunteers were expected to be sworn in next month, a hospital spokesman said.

An undisclosed number have signed up and they will carry out the duties in their spare time, like any other special constable.

The spokesman stressed the drive was a police initiative and not because of any rise in crime. He added: "The staff’s knowledge of the hospital and the site will be an advantage in their role as specials."

The Royal College of Nursing said violence and crime remained major issues in the NHS, and it would watch the scheme "with interest".

A spokeswoman said the RCN would be concerned over potential conflicts of interest if staff were dealing with patients in a medical capacity one moment and as a special constable the next.

However, the hospital spokesman said they were aware of the concerns and efforts would be made to avoid such clashes.