Vol. 536 No. 5
77 Mr. O'Shea asked the Minister for Health and Children the steps he intends to take to deal with the increasing problem of attacks on nurses and other health service workers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14814/01]
The issue of violence against any health service worker is a very serious matter. Last year each health board was asked to submit details of a review of their security arrangements in their accident and emergency units, and to identify deficiencies. Following that review I was able to allocate £1 million to improve security in accident and emergency departments. This money was allocated to address issues such as additional security personnel, installation of CCTV and training of staff in how to handle aggressive patients.
In February of this year I met with the Health and Safety Authority, and one of the issues on the agenda was violence in the work place. The Health and Safety Authority informed me that they plan to step up the number of reviews in hospitals in relation to all health and safety issues, of which work place violence is an important issue. I welcomed this development, and have since written to the chief executive officer's of all health boards informing them of the need to take all necessary measures to address the risk to health service staff. I have also requested that the HSEA would meet with the alliance of health service unions to discuss the implications of Health and Safety Authority reports.
