RiskUKOctober2017

Healthcare Sector Security: Body-Worn Cameras
With NHS Protect
reporting that assaults
on NHS staff in
England are up by
around 5% year-onyear
(67,864 assaults
in 2014-2015 versus
70,555 in 2015-2016),
NHS Trusts are doing
what they can to
improve the safety of
employees and
patients alike. Herman
Vermaak explains how
body-worn cameras
are now ably assisting
security personnel
Herman Vermaak:
Managing Director of B-Cam
Security’s Watching Brief
It seems almost beyond belief that someone
could launch an attack on a healthcare
professional trying to help people in need,
but that’s one very grim reality of Britain in the
21st Century. During 2015-2016, NHS staff in
England reported more than 70,000 assaults,
equating to 53 instances per 1,000 workers.
Staggeringly, criminal sanctions were brought
on only 1,740 occasions. Many of our NHS
Trusts have simply had enough, and are now
turning towards technology to lend them a
helping hand with prevention measures.
The use of body-worn cameras is on the rise.
Security officers at Guy’s and St Thomas’ in
London wear such devices in an effort to halt
abuse and violent behaviour from patients.
These ‘bodycams’ act as a visible deterrent to
those who may be intent on causing harm, and
also serve as a trusted source of evidence
should any incident occur.
At Guy’s and St Thomas’, staff had seen a
surge in violent behaviour, particularly towards
nurses and other front line employees. Between
April and September last year, a total of 850
incidents were recorded (up 27% on the same
period in 2015, when 620 were recorded).
Dame Eileen Sills, chief nurse at Guy’s and St
Thomas’, said: “At times, our staff and patients
have felt threatened and intimidated by a small
number of fellow patients and visitors. We want
to send a clear message to people that our staff
are here for them. Please let them do their jobs
safely. Any unprovoked violence and aggression
towards staff is unacceptable. If people do
abuse our staff we will take robust action and
pursue them through the courts.”
The cameras being used by security
personnel only operate when activated, and are
therefore not inappropriately recording
personal and protected data. Once activated, a
light on the camera ensures those being filmed
are also aware that recording is taking place.
Jayne King, head of security and site services
at Guy’s and St Thomas’, said: “We’ve taken
this step to assure our staff of their safety and
send a message to people who are violent or
abusive on Trust premises that these recordings
will be used to bring them to justice.”
The devices employed at Guy’s and St
Thomas’ have a tamperproof design, meaning
that data cannot be removed from them. The
devices cannot be easily destroyed, thereby
protecting the chain of evidence.
Any patient or service user information that’s
recorded is secure and inaccessible without the
relevant software to download the video and
audio recordings.
Support from the police
Body-worn cameras are supported by the
police. Superintendent Roy Smith of the
Metropolitan Police Service explained: “We
respond to any assaults on NHS staff very
seriously indeed. Body-worn cameras act as an
excellent deterrent and provide really good
evidence for us to bring offenders to justice.
They capture evidence really early on, so the
likelihood of us securing a guilty plea at an
early stage in proceedings is increasing.”
Smith went on to comment: “If there’s any
sort of violence perpetrated, people can see
instantly that they’re being recorded on bodyworn
video. Our experience and evidence
suggests this immediately de-escalates a
number of situations.”
Body-worn camera technology is also being
used at Princess Royal University Hospital in
Orpington, Kent. Security manager Len Jeffrey
told Risk UK: “My security staff were called to
an urgent and violent incident on a ward as a
visitor was being abusive towards staff and
patients. On seeing security with a body-worn
camera, the male immediately calmed down
and co-operated, thereby preventing the
escalation of his anti-social behaviour”.
The challenges facing 21st Century
healthcare professionals are substantial
enough in extent without them having to be
constantly concerned about their physical wellbeing.
The number of attacks on staff is rising,
but the number of those convicted remains low.
The application of secure body-worn camera
technology can provide vital reassurances and
enhance the safety of all those who work in this
critically important sector.
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