Design Council searches for winning ideas to help reduce violence against Accident and Emergency hospital staff
Last updated 11/21/2011 1:15:59 PM
Design Council searches for winning ideas to help reduce violence against Accident and Emergency hospital staff
Designers are to rethink the design of hospital Accident and Emergency departments to reduce violence and aggression towards NHS staff.
The problem is estimated to cost at least £69 million a year in staff absence, loss of productivity and additional security.
The project is being run by the Design Council, and has been commissioned by the Department of Health.
It will involve designers, architects, healthcare experts, patients and frontline NHS staff working together to develop and trial potential solutions.
The Design Council has launched a national search for a design team or teams to work with A and E staff and patients at three NHS Hospital Trusts – Guys and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Southampton University Hospitals NHS Trust.
The solutions will include changes to interior design, such as redesigning layout and use of space, or introducing new products and furniture. They will also involve improvements to information given to patients and their families, as well as redesigned clinical and non-clinical services and systems
An NHS staff survey from the Care Quality Commission in 2009 revealed that 11 per cent of staff experienced physical violence from patients or their families in the previous year. In 2009/10 there were over 150 reported physical assaults per day on healthcare staff a total of 56,718 physical assaults in England.
Lord Bichard, Chairman of the Design Council said: "This is a great opportunity for designers to really make a difference to staff and patients and, hopefully, save money."
This latest venture follows the success of similar interventions by the Design Council and the NHS to improve patient privacy and dignity and reduce MRSA and C. difficile.
Professor Matthew Cooke, National Clinical Director for Urgent and Emergency Care at the Department of Health said: "As an A and E consultant I have witnessed the effect of violence on colleagues. I look forward to seeing the results of this project that will not only make work safer for my colleagues but also enable us to provide better care for our patients."
Teams will be invited to submit a proposal on how they would approach the challenge, with solutions which will offer value for money and could significantly reduce the financial and human cost of violence against staff.