In 2015, a surgeon at a women's hospital was shot and fatally wounded by a deceased patient's son. The story did not receive a lot of attention, which indicates the lack of awareness about the prevalence of workplace violence that healthcare providers experience. Many of the cases of workplace violence involve verbal abuse. In extreme cases, violence can include assault, battery, sexual harassment, stalking, or domestic violence. Recently, institutions that were considered a haven for ailing patients have experienced a steady increase in crime rates, thus necessitating the implementation of various safety and security measures such as involving security personnel and using metal detectors (Phillips, 2016). This paper analyzes some of the approaches that can be utilized to promote safety and security in the healthcare setting.
Involvement of Security Personnel and Local Law Enforcement
The State and Territorial Health Departments (SHDs) protect and promote workers’ safety by protecting their health. Healthcare workers are exposed to various agents and other factors that put them at risk of developing various conditions that would alter their health status. The SHDs have the mandate to report occupational injuries and illnesses by physicians. They are also mandated to report laboratory results such as lead exposure in physicians. These agencies work to protect healthcare staff (Linnan et al., 2019). However, staff members need protection from various sources of harm, such as malicious individuals, terrorist attacks, violence with facilities. For this purpose, security personnel and law enforcement agencies can promote safety and security in the workplace.
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Schoenfisch & Pompeii (2016) report that there has been an increase in the rate of violence directed towards hospital workers over the past ten years. Local law enforcement and security agencies can avail valuable expertise in performing a risk assessment. The risk assessment will enable interested parties to identify and evaluate the areas of vulnerability to violence in the healthcare setting. Hospital security personnel are engaged in providing tertiary prevention of violence. However, security personnel are also at risk of being assaulted and should be provided with restraint tools and weapons. Tools and weapons that can be availed to security personnel include non-lethal intermediate weapons, such as pepper spray, and conducted electrical weapons. Lethal weapons that can be provided include handguns.
Training of Workers on Safety and Security
Security personnel training is critical in mitigating and preventing violent events in hospitals. One of the vital areas of training workers and security personnel should undergo recognizing and preventing workplace violence. Recognizing workplace violence allows workers to alert the necessary law enforcement agencies for security support. Training of workers should focus on workplace violence, conflict management, crisis intervention, and active shooter. Additionally, training should also focus on defensive tactics and hand-on restraint. Such training should be availed to non-security staff as well.
Updates to the Security System
Regular updates to the security system should be made to ensure that the system remains up to date on current violence threats. For instance, authentication requirements should be changed often to ensure that security credentials do not fall on the wrong hands. All new security and safety threats should be assessed and quantified to ensure workers' efficiency in security provision.
Impact of Safety and Security on Performance
Ensuring the safety and security of personnel in the workplace enables workers to be calm and collected while providing services. This ensures that workers remain keen and dedicated to providing adequate care while leaving security concerns to security personnel. It improves performance by improving patient outcomes and patient satisfaction levels in the healthcare setting.
References
Linnan, L. A., Leff, M. S., Martini, M. C., Walton, A. L., Baron, S., Hannon, P. A., ... & Studer, M. (2019). Workplace health promotion and safety in state and territorial health departments in the United States: a national mixed-methods study of activity, capacity, and growth opportunities. BMC public health , 19 (1), 291. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-019-6575-x
Phillips, J. P. (2016). Workplace violence against health care workers in the United States. New England journal of medicine , 374 (17), 1661-1669. 10.1056/NEJMra1501998
Schoenfisch, A. L., & Pompeii, L. A. (2016). Security personnel practices and policies in US hospitals: findings from a national survey. Workplace health & safety , 64 (11), 531-542. https://doi.org/10.1177/2165079916653971
