Addressing occupational violence and aggression in healthcare
If you’ve been paying attention to WorkSafe advertisements in the past year, you will have noticed the campaign ‘It’s Never OK’ has been rolling out across television, print, and online media. This campaign is a collaboration between WorkSafe Victoria and The Department of Health and Human Services to create more awareness around the occupational violence experienced by healthcare workers across the state.
‘It’s Never OK’ ads depict scenarios faced by healthcare employees on a daily basis, including paramedics responding to emergency calls, aged care workers completing their duties, and nurses undertaking procedures on a busy ward – all of which feature very real acts of aggression towards the workers from members of the public. 95% of our healthcare workers report having experienced physical or verbal assault.
Wilson Security are proud to work closely with workplaces across the healthcare industry, creating tailored security plans to protect workers from abuse.
Defining occupational violence and aggression
The first thing that must be universally understood is that extreme acts of violence are unacceptable in every circumstance. However, when these outbursts of aggression occur daily in particular workplaces, they are classified as occupational.
There isn’t a single standard example of what violent and aggressive behaviour looks like; it exists on a spectrum.
This can start as small as gestures or expressions such as eye rolling or sneering, escalating to verbal abuse in the form of shouting, swearing, and name-calling. It includes intimidating behaviour such as invading a worker’s personal space and standing over them, as well as physical assaults such as pushing, spitting, biting, scratching, tripping, and snatching. The worst offenders commit extreme acts such as hitting, punching or kicking, strangulation, personal and physical threats, and sexual assault.
The toll on our healthcare workers
Nobody should go to work expecting violent behaviour to be used against them, but this is the reality for many of our healthcare workers. When industry surveys indicate that up to 9 out of 10 nurses report having been verbally or physically assaulted, it comes as no surprise that surveys reveal high job dissatisfaction and unhappiness are widespread across the industry.
Fear of aggression is prevalent amongst healthcare workers. Conducting their day-to-day duties, which include performing complex procedures and delivering outstanding care to patients, becomes difficult when staff are forced to look over their shoulders to keep an eye out for potential threats.
Victoria’s Premier, Daniel Andrews, announced full government funding for a myriad of courses to address industries that have recorded lower numbers of applicants and workers, so it’s not surprising to see that a number of these are in healthcare. Diploma in Nursing, and certificates in mental health, aged care, and dental assisting are being offered throughout Victorian TAFEs free of charge in an attempt to supplement dwindling numbers. There are a number of factors that dissuade people from pursuing careers in these industries, such as lower income and atypical work hours, but the threat of violence and aggression is a significant issue.
Enhance the security of your workplace
Wilson Security understand that hospital security is significantly different from any other security role; that's why we are determined to enhance the safety of healthcare workers across Australia.
From Melbourne to Perth, our officers are trained in healthcare security and are equipped to maintain a calm and respectful environment in various workplaces, including emergency rooms and aged care facilities. With a strong security presence, the likelihood of aggression may be reduced, and situations that escalate can be handled swiftly and professionally.
We offer training programs in dealing with mental health issues and keep health facilities informed about on-site developments, as well as implementing various response parameters that many sites lack.
We offer corporate risk consultations, where we assess our clients' businesses and provide them with better control over their security risks, including their causes and consequences. This control and understanding of security risks enables organisations to balance growth, accelerated success and forward planning with the effective management of risk.
As well as a physical presence, Wilson Security also tailor technological security measures to ensure that patients and visitors can only access approved areas, with staff using swipe cards or access codes to enter off-limits rooms where medication or supplies are stored, as well as monitoring CCTV cameras, building systems and different types of alarms.
Contact our security consultants at 1300 945 766 for a comprehensive risk assessment and our recommended security solutions.
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Edited by Jaime Kendler-Arnold, May 2025
