Strategies Used by Clinics to Prevent Aggression in ER Areas
In the heart of Germany, hospitals in the federal state of Hesse are grappling with a growing issue - workplace violence against healthcare workers in emergency rooms. This troubling trend, while not specific to Hesse, has been increasingly reported across the country.
Many hospitals in Hesse have implemented safety measures to protect their staff from potential harm. The Klinikum Darmstadt, for instance, has its own security service and relies on a nearby police station for quick response. The Central Emergency Room at the University Hospital Frankfurt is equipped with an emergency button that triggers a direct police alarm, and security personnel are on duty at night. At the Klinikum Fulda, emergency room staff have a panic button system, and security personnel are on duty in the evenings and nights, with close cooperation with the police.
The University Hospital Frankfurt offers de-escalation training for its staff to prevent such incidents, a measure also adopted by the Wiesbaden HSK Clinic. The Klinikum Kassel, too, takes precautions, offering short-term internal psychological help to employees who have experienced violence, legal assistance, and the option to issue house bans.
Factors contributing to this violence include high-stress environments, mental health crises, intoxication, and the urgent nature of treatment. Societal developments, such as a generally rougher tone, prioritizing self-interest over mutual respect, and increased sense of entitlement, are also contributing factors. In some cases, psychiatric patients may be under the influence of strong drugs, exacerbating the situation.
The hospital association considers this a structural problem, and many incidents involve verbal aggression, with threats like "I'll get my axe and split your skull." Aggressive behavior harms both the clinic teams and patients in the vicinity, making it a concern for all involved.
It's worth noting that physical attacks on staff are very rare at the Wiesbaden HSK Clinic and the University Hospital Frankfurt, although several hundred incidents have been registered in various areas of the University Hospital Frankfurt in the past two years.
In response to this issue, a crisis intervention team is available for affected employees at the University Hospital Frankfurt, and de-escalation training and the temporary reinforcement of security personnel are common at the University Hospital Gießen and Marburg (UKGM).
Despite these measures, more needs to be done to fully understand and address the backgrounds of these incidents. Official regional health authority reports, hospital security analyses, or academic research centered on Hesse would provide a more precise understanding of this pressing issue.
[1] Source: dpa survey, various hospitals' hr-contributions, and international data on emergency room violence.
- To combat workplace violence in emergency rooms, various hospitals in Hesse have implemented safety measures such as security services, emergency buttons, panic button systems, and de-escalation training for staff.
- Factors leading to workplace violence in these healthcare institutions may include high-stress environments, mental health crises, intoxication, and urgent treatment situations, as well as societal developments like a rougher tone, self-interest over mutual respect, and increased sense of entitlement.
- Many incidents of workplace violence involve verbal aggression, with threats, but physical attacks are relatively rare in some institutions like the Wiesbaden HSK Clinic and the University Hospital Frankfurt.
- A crisis intervention team is available for affected employees at the University Hospital Frankfurt, and de-escalation training and temporary reinforcement of security personnel are common at the University Hospital Gießen and Marburg (UKGM).
- Despite these efforts, a more comprehensive understanding of the backgrounds of these incidents requires further investigation through official regional health authority reports, hospital security analyses, or academic research centered on Hesse.
- Incidents of workplace violence against healthcare workers are not confined to Hesse alone, as they have been increasingly reported across Germany.
- Beyond healthcare settings, topics like crime and justice, accidents, mental health, neurological disorders, science, fitness and exercise, sports, sports-betting, and general news are also engaging public interest and occupying headlines in Germany and around the world.
