Violence in the NHS: staff face routine assault and intimidation Lack of training and prosecutions, and workforce shortages, are placing staff in greater danger, say health unions
When Dr Miranda Roland, an A&E registrar, was held hostage by a patient brandishing a pair of steel surgical scissors in a cubicle, she didn’t panic. Moments earlier, she had gone in to check on the young patient, who was having a mental health episode after taking drugs, and had closed the door behind her. Although she was alone, Roland thought she was safe – all sharp and dangerous objects had been removed. Unfortunately, the patient had managed to hide a pair of scissors, which she pulled out before backing the doctor into a corner. “I was able to keep calm and talk her out of stabbing me,” Roland recalls. “I was lucky. It was that tense, it could have gone either way.” The Guardian
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