Managing Violence and Aggression

Due to the nature of services provided by NHS Lothian there is a risk that individuals may be exposed to violence and aggression. Staff at all levels have responsibilities in relation to the prevention and management of violence and aggression.

This policy provides a framework for keeping people safe. The personal safety of all staff is valued and protected through the prevention and management of Violence and Aggression within NHS Lothian. This will be achieved by minimising the risk to exposure of violence and aggression for those delivering care, their patients, visitors and the public by creating safe and secure work environments.

This policy, and its associated materials, associated materials (e.g. tools, procedures, training strategy) are collectively designed within the “Keeping People Safe” message to

− assess risk to enable managers to establish local procedures and preventative risk management strategies
− define training and education which is proportionate to the level of risk,
− report and review adverse events to identify learning and to develop actions to minimise the risk of similar events occurring in future.
− Provide support to teams that have experienced violence and aggression in the workplace
− share learning across the organisation

It is everyone’s responsibility in the organisation to adopt these policies, procedures and tools to ensure that people are kept safe and where there is a risk of violence and aggression it is managed in a positive and proactive manner.