Understanding the
Causes and Solutions
Knowing the reasons of patient violence in hospitals in
America and the ways of countering the situations are an integral part of
maintaining a healthy hospital atmosphere. Employers of state hospitals often
find victims to workplace patient assaults towards their staff members which
take a toll on their labor and security costs and the days lost at work due to staff
injuries.
Employers thus require urgent attention and assistance in
helping them understand some of the main causes and how they can address the
situation. In this article, we provide you a guide on how you can prevent violence
and abuse in your workplace and maintain safety for both patients and staff.
Understanding the Causes
Effects of Alcohol
Patients are likely to express violentbehavior if they are under the effects of alcohol or drugs. Drugs are often
provided to patients in the form of antidepressants or for treating cancer and
can be one of the factors.
Head Injuries
Patients who have taken recent
injuries to the head could experience tremors. Post-traumatic tremors involve
uncontrollable shaking which can result in perceived violent behavior by patients.
Death of a Close Family Member or Friend
The loss of a family member can
trigger excess sadness and grief that can accumulate to lead to despair and violence.
The despair is unleashed on hospital staff.
Unprofessional Staff Services
Inappropriate staff behavior
directed towards patients can also contribute to high stress and aggression among
patients which could in turn lead to violence. Staff who have not received training
in the art of de-escalation can also fall victim to patient abuse.
Poor Workplace Conditions
An unsafe and poor workplace
environment that consists of poor lighting, improper ventilation and
air-conditioning are create optimal conditions for patient aggression and violent
behavior.
Strategies for Staff
Be Mindful Of Warning Signs
One of the first things in avoiding patient assault is to be
aware of the different warning signs prior to the assault. These warning signs
could vary but mainly include the patient raising his or her voice, abusive
language, threats, threatening body gestures and the patient holding a weapon.
Knowing these different warning signs can help staff plan
their next move with a lot more confidence and promptness which can either
involve alerting security or using calm and compassionate body language and
words.
Approach Patients With Cordially and With Compassion
Whether the staff member is in the middle of a highly
uncomfortable situation with a patient or not, managing patients with the
utmost compassion and care goes a long way in preventing the conditions for a
violent assault from patients. It is crucial to empathize and use language that
demonstrates care and understanding such as ‘we understand how you feel’ or ‘I
know you are feeling a lot of pain’ can help the patient feel at ease instead
of agitating his or her frustrations.
Employers are required to provide high level professional staff
training to meet such requirements.
Respond To Conflicts Astutely
Lastly, employees need to learn de-escalation techniques to
calm the situation and not respond with the same aggressive tone to the patient.
Doing so would only put the employee and others at risk.
Moreover, standard operating procedures should be implemented
and made known to staff in alerting the security, turning on the alarm or panic
button or escaping from emergency exits should a patient resort to extreme violence.
This will help to minimize potential risks and casualties
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