Preventing and tackling conflict

Our staff are working especially hard to provide care for everyone who needs us and to keep everyone safe. But our hospitals are very busy and you may need to wait longer for care than usual.

These challenges can be very frustrating for staff and patients alike. We understand that these frustrations may lead to tension and even conflict. However, aggressive behaviour and violence are never acceptable, whether in person, over the phone or online. 

What we should all expect

From staff

We expect our staff to treat patients, visitors and each other with respect and kindness. We expect our staff to listen to the concerns of the people who use our services and do all they can to help or to get help. We expect staff to put the safety of patients, visitors and each other first. And we expect staff to escalate concerns if they need support and to report all incidents so they can be monitored and followed up as needed.

If you feel you are not getting the help you need from staff locally, please contact our patient advice and liaison service (PALS).

From patients and visitors

Everyone using our hospitals has a right to feel safe. We expect our patients and visitors to treat each other and our staff with respect. We expect everyone using our hospitals to follow our policies and guidance on behaviours and safety, including our infection prevention and control requirements.  We really welcome feedback – positive and negative – and have put in place a range of routes to enable that to be done as constructively and as easily as possible.

Find out more about giving feedback or raising concerns. 

Keeping everyone safe

We have several measures in place in our hospitals to help keep staff, patients and visitors safe. This includes a security team operating on all sites around the clock. You may also notice some staff wearing small body cameras. On the rare occasion someone becomes violent, these cameras can help identify the offender and there is good evidence they help to deter aggressive behaviour. We are also expanding our staff training and resources to help avoid and ‘de-escalate’ conflict.