A “LOCKED-DOOR” policy to manage access to wards and the appointment of a dedicated lead on absence are among new measures being considered to address rising violence against health staff and “terrible” staff sickness rates across the department.
The board that oversees Health Care Jersey met yesterday to discuss how to respond to recent staffing trends and workforce issues.
The meeting heard that 452 incidents of violence and aggression had been reported by the end of last month. That follows 496 incidents recorded in 2024 and 310 in 2023.
It comes as officials described absence rates – almost 15% higher than the same period last year – as a “cause of concern” and “really terrible”.
Linking the trends, one board member said: “We know we have sickness issues – and some of the sickness is related to some of those situations [around violence and aggression]. People don’t come to work to be abused, to be slated, to be hit, to not do their job.”
Several health staff members attended the hearing to share their experiences with violence and aggression at work – saying that while most patients are not aggressive, a small number of repeat offenders can have a significant impact.
A mental health nurse described experiencing violence personally and seeing it happen to colleagues, causing some to leave the profession.
Meanwhile, a lead technician said that pharmacy staff are verbally abused almost daily at the reception and went on to describe an incident where a colleague was verbally abused and accused of stealing medication.
The board heard that perpetrators often fell into two groups: those who were unwell – for example, with psychiatric illness – and those who were deliberately aggressive, including those who could often be racist.
In response, the department is setting up a working group with representatives from across services, including hospitals, mental health, paediatrics, safety and HR.
The group will review staff training, reporting and post-incident support, as well as examine measures such as portable alarm systems and introducing a locked-door policy to manage patient access to wards to stop people being able to wander freely around the Hospital.
Director of mental health Andy Weir said: “One of the things that staff have told us is that people can just wander in and out of our wards, and actually that can be really problematic, but we’re considering, should we be locking our wards? Should we be making access more controlled?”
A clinical co-ordinator has already been appointed to train staff to identify early signs of aggression and prevent incidents from escalating.
Earlier this month, the Health Department launched an awareness campaign against violence featuring the children of staff on posters, banners and social media.
Meanwhile, a dedicated workforce lead has now been appointed to focus on absence management, supported by a government-wide “absence matters” campaign launched this week.
In August alone, coughs, colds and flu accounted for nearly a quarter (24.6%) of all sickness, followed by gastrointestinal problems (14.9%) and anxiety or stress (12.3%).
And high levels of stress and anxiety-related absences are not a new issue within Jersey’s health service.
In previous years, reports have raised concerns about poor workplace culture, with some staff reluctant to report bullying or harassment for fear of repercussions.
And the issue has continued to feature in Health Advisory Board meetings.
In February, the board described stress and anxiety among staff as a “significant concern” and said better mental health support could help reduce sickness absence.
