'Urgent action' needed to protect A&E staff from violence

Accident and emergency staff at Bristol Royal Infirmary do not feel equipped to deal with the violence they face from the public, inspectors have found.

Health watchdog The Care Quality Commission (CQC) rated the department as "requires improvement" following an inspection in February. It said "urgent action" must be taken to protect staff and patients.

University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust said it was working on improvements.

Amanda Williams, CQC's head of hospital inspections, said: "We were... particularly concerned to find high levels of violence and aggression against staff from patients in the department and to learn that staff did not feel adequately trained to deal with this."

"Staff need to be given the appropriate training and support to ensure they feel safe and to enable them to defuse tension and prevent violence from escalating."

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Source: BBC News, 17 March 2021