Cliff Morrsion has been accredited as a local security management specialist at Rotherham General Hospital NHS Trust.
Cliff, pictured in the December issue of the magazine, is employed by OCS Resolution Security. He said: โI will now be able to investigate incidents occurring within the hospital and when necessary refer cases to the NHS Counter Fraud and Security Management Service (NHS SMS).โ He can now provide the training nationally, working as a consultant to other trusts.
A national training syllabus to tackle violence against frontline staff in mental health and learning disability services was launched in October by the NHS SMS.
Promoting Safer and Therapeutic Services was developed by an NHS SMS-led group including specialists in managing violence in mental health and learning disability settings. The syllabus will provide training in recognising, de-escalating and managing potentially violent incidents. It is the first time such a course – to be delivered by 2008 – has been developed to an agreed national standard for all front-line staff in mental health and learning disability services, according to the NHS. Official figures launched at the same time show there were 43,301 incidents of physical assault against NHS staff working in mental health and learning disability settings in 2004/05 across England. In 2002-03 there were an estimated 59,992 assaults in these settings. These figures, the first following the introduction of a new framework to tackle violence against staff established by the NHS SMS in November 2003, were collated from 89 mental health and learning disability trusts and primary care trusts providing mental health services across England. From early 2006, the NHS SMS will begin training the new local security management specialists (LSMS) in mental health and learning disability services. A four and half week course is designed specifically for LSMS working in mental health trusts. Part of the role will be to look at how to tackle the causes of violence, such as the service user environment and alcohol and drugs misuse on the wards. The LSMS will also be a link between the trust and the police.
What they say
Jim Gee, Chief Executive of the NHS SMS said: "This new national training syllabus and the role of the Local Security Management Specialist, the first of its kind in the NHS, is part of a robust framework that the NHS SMS has introduced to improve the safety and security of NHS staff, patients and visitors. Our overall aim is to train 750,000 front-line NHS staff in conflict resolution over the next few years. Armed with accurate information about the nature and scale of the problem, we can further develop practical steps to help prevent and manage violence against NHS staff. We have a great deal of work to do โ so that we can achieve our aim – to protect the NHS so it can better protect the publicโs health.โ
October saw the third annual NHS fraud awareness month; Scotland had its first in November.
