Page 187 - HA Convention 2015

Service Priorities and Programmes Free Papers

SPP7.3 Committed and Happy Staff 13:15 Room 221

Workplace Harmony – Multidisciplinary Programme for Anti-workplace Violence
Leung HK, Wong MK, Ng HC, Lui WK
Department of Medicine and Geriatrics, United Christian Hospital, Hong Kong

Introduction

Workplace violence is no longer a new subject. However, it causes psychological impact to the related staff, breaks the trust
between patient and healthcare providers, disturbs clinical service and even endangers other patients and staff. During
2014, 41 cases of Injuries on duty (IOD) related to workplace violence took place in United Christian Hospital. There were 19
cases in Psychiatric Department and 12 cases in Department of Medicine and Geriatrics respectively (KEC OSH, 2014). The
upset but true fact is that violence takes place anywhere in the healthcare system, not just psychiatric units. Structured and
systemic training on workplace violence in general clinical setting is generally inadequate. Therefore, an Anti-Violence Team
(AV Team) was established to launch a multidisciplinary programme.

Objectives Tuesday, 19 May

The objectives of the programme were: (1) To increase the awareness of staff on the risks of workplace violence; (2) to
enhance staff’s competency on managing workplace violence; (3) to familiarise staff with Hospital Authority’s (HA) Bylaw and
prosecution procedures; (4) to equip with practical skills of breakaway techniques; (5) to launch multidisciplinary programme
on workplace violence; and (6) to establish better liaison between multidisciplines.

Methodology

AV Team are responsible for staff training regarding workplace violence in medical ward, promotion of working safety
through incidents sharing, conducting survey and organising anti-workplace violence training for staff. In September of 2014,
AV Team launched a programme with multidisciplinary parties, namely security department and the hospital OSH team. It
was organised for all staff in United Christian Hospital. The programme included video presentation of workplace violence
scenarios, introduction and use of “flow chart on handling workplace violence”, and theoretical sharing of de-escalation
technique, handling verbal violence and post-assault management. Participants were invited to re-demonstrate breakaway
techniques. Legal prosecution procedures and post-incident sharing were shared by security department and the hospital
OSH Team colleagues.

Results

A pre- and post-test with questionnaire were distributed to participants at the end of the programme to examine the
effectiveness of the programme. The results showed significant improvement in participants’ knowledge towards workplace
violence. 80% of the participants were satisfied with the programme. Most of them agreed that the workshop was practical
for use in the workplace and 64% of participants agreed that the programme improved their skill in handling high-risk
violence incident. Participants also reported that they were more familiarised with HA Bylaw and proper prosecution
procedure to deal with verbal violence. Workplace violence is a serious safety and healthcare issue. With the implementation
of the programme, staff gained awareness and were more confident to tackle workplace violence. Our ultimate aim was to
provide staff a patient, safe and more harmonious environment, and in turn enhancing the overall efficiency and quality of
clinical services in United Christian Hospital.

Reference: KEC OSH Team (2014). UCH Departments IOD Data Updates 2014.

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