Zero tolerance for attack on nurses

by Tracey McDonald*

The Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC) in its latest report 
"Violence in the Workplace", shows the health industry as the most violent 
industry in Australia. Registered nurses recorded the second highest number 
of violence-related workers' compensation claims in 1995-96, ranking higher 
than prison and police officers. The fourth highest are enrolled 
nurses.

The Australian community has traditionally recognised the credibility of 
nurses who work in situations that require bravery as well as professional 
nursing skills.

Nurses work within demanding and risky environments in order to help people 
to deal with the situation they are in, and this often means staying to 
help when many people might not. The community know that nurses stay to 
help us through our difficult times and appreciation and respect can be 
expressed by employers and the general public by ensuring that nurses work 
in safety ... at least that is the way it has been.

Australia's traditional social values appear to be changing and as a result 
a small but significant group of people think that they have a right to 
harass, abuse and attack nurses as they try to do their work in hospitals, 
aged and community care and other sectors.

The reasons for these changes can only be speculated upon because the level 
and nature of workplace violence perpetrated by the general community and 
patients against nurses is relatively under-researched.

While several localised studies have been done into workplace violence, the 
matter of the outcomes of this workplace violence has not been established.

Physical injuries, exposure to infection and lingering emotional effects 
such as loss of self-confidence and a feeling of vulnerability have been 
described by O'Connel et al as some of these outcomes.

It is possible that violence against nurses could be a major factor in 
recruiting and retaining nurses in all sectors. The true prevalence of the 
violence is not known for many reasons, including:

* under-reporting of attacks;
* lack of organisational support for nurses reporting attacks;
* poor intervention strategies to resolve situations prone to attacks;
* dismissive attitudes by management towards nurses who report attacks;
* the general public and other workers showing no regard for the 
vulnerability of nurses to violent attacks.

There is no excuse for rudeness, harassment, viciousness, or physical 
attacks on nurses, who are there 24 hours a days, seven days a week to help 
people.

Nurses have to set priorities based on the intensity of people's needs for 
treatment, support and care.

It is a sad state of affairs when demanding and abusive people try to alter 
these priorities with little regard for the life, death or misery that may 
result for someone else who really should have first priority.

Without nurses the health system cannot function. Nurses are the bedrock of 
health care, and they have a right to a safe work environment. If just one 
nurse if threatened or attacked at work, it is one too many.

We can reverse this nasty trend of abuse if we are united against any 
undermining of nurses' rights to courtesy, respect and personal safety.

The NSW Nurses' Association has taken the issue to the Minster, who is as 
determined as they are to stop this trend and bring the perpetrators to 
justice.

The Department of Health and the Association are involved in a campaign to 
raise community awareness of these scurrilous attacks and to send a clear 
message to those who think they can intimidate and attack nurses.

The message is that criminal attacks on nurses will result in the attacker 
being charged by the police and anyone who threatens nurses' legal and 
moral rights to work in a safe and harassment-free environment, will face 
the consequences of their actions.

* * *

* Tracey McDonald is the Manager — Professional Services at the NSW 
Nurses' Association.

Reprinted from The Lamp