Assaulted at work

[drinkingwineoutofamug]

I work nhs dementia ward.
Yesterday I was dragged to the floor by a patient, today I'm off sick.
Doctor has said whiplash . I can't move my neck or stand up straight.
My partner is furious and can't understand that due to this patient having no capacity and on a dols , nothing will happen.
After 18 years of been used as a punch bag by patients I've applied for an office based role.
We are seriously not paid enough for this shit.

I am so sorry this has happened to you.

It's happening more and more frequently now. A lot of these patients are the forgotten from the pandemic.
Never got the help and support they and their families needed.
It gets to crisis point at home so admitted to us.
I don't know what the answer is.

We can't sedate a patient just to do personal care or treatments every time. We call in family to help, try other avenues like distraction methods and the Vera technique.

I'm just really fed up. Now 2 staff off with injuries.

I hear you I worked in both acute and elderly mental health wards for years ,the Dementia care wards definitely had the most incidences of violence it's hard work.

I am sorry this has happened. What you should be saying to your employer is that more support or training should be needed and that the care plan for the patient needs to be looked at again. Of course nothing will happen in terms of legal consequences for the patient who doesn't have capacity. I am not sure what your partner thinks should happen to the person?

What are staffing levels like? It may be that there is a need to increase this person to 3:1 for personal care for example. Is there anything that you can think of that may help things?

I'm really sorry this has happened to you. It's scary, I've worked in a dementia unit in the past and been assaulted.

@x2boys it's going from bad to worse. Went on the laughable conflict resolution course. Something like 90,000 reports of assault on nhs staff. The nhs stopped counting in 2018.

@cansu , we go through this time after time. I've still got the marks in my arm from a bite 3 months ago. We implement care plans , work with families using this is me and work along side the admiral nurses. I'm not sure what else we can do.

@Whatkindoflifeisthis staffing is a joke across the nhs. We have 12 1:1 patients and 8 staff if we are lucky.
Due to the high levels of assault on the ward, word gets round and nobody will book bank shifts on the ward except us regular staff.

It's not just in our trust, it's a national problem. They need to look at care in the community as that's where it's seeming to go wrong, lack of community workers, social care etc
I feel for the families who have and still are trying to cope at home with no support.

My partner can't get his head around the mca. Yes if it happened down the pub then the person would be arrested etc
But these people have no capacity, they are in unfamiliar surroundings with people they don't know. They would be absolutely mortified if they knew what they were doing/had done.
But in other aspects , dementia brings out the real person that's been somewhat suppressed.
Very sad all round.
I'm just woe is me today

Jesus but that sounds really tough, both physically and mentally on you.

I'm shocked at the figures you've quoted:
Something like 90,000 reports of assault on nhs staff. The nhs stopped counting in 2018.
With a Tory leadership battle going on right now, I would think that this is what should be highlighted and raised through the media. What are they planning to do and will actually do to help this? Why have figures stopped being taken since 2018 (on their watch)?

I hope you make a full recovery from your assault @drinkingwineoutofamug - in any other job, you could claim that your employer wasn't doing enough to protect you during the completion of your role and you and your colleagues who have been assaulted could bring the equivalent of a class action suit against the NHS?

I can imagine, on the ward I used to work on ww had a few ex professional Boxer,s it was a nightmare ,your right though staff don't get paid enough .

Just showing some solidarity. I have scars from patients. Its so hard when they don't have capacity as there is very little you can do. I was assaulted when I worked in ED by someone with capacity, they got a small fine for attempting to stab me with my own trauma shears. It was an absolute insult.

My mum’s suffering with FTD, on a dementia unit, and I know she’s been violent towards staff and patients, which is a horrible horrible shock and has had me in floods of tears (she was always so gentle and kind before) - I’m her daughter and I find what I’m being told bloody terrifying . I just wanted to send you some love, and gratitude - it must be so horrendously hard . The staff caring for my mum are absolute treasures and I don’t mean that in a patronising way at all - you’d need a heart of gold to even consider doing that sort of role I think .

You are right re being left to crisis though - my mum was 6 years to get a diagnosis and by that point we had police, ambulance, six consultants, and four social workers involved, it was horrendous - I’m not sure my mental health will ever recover . The only reason she’s in care is because we realised if we kept going we’d both end up dead before long .

I remember working on a NHS ward myself (brain injuries) and I remember we laughed through the challenging behaviour work as it was so far removed from the reality we were facing . SMT weren’t interested at all .

wishing you all the very, very best

I’m so sorry, hope you have a speedy recovery. I worked with a woman who’d previously worked with dementia patients. When she was pregnant, showing quite large, a patient suddenly whacked her right across her bump with his walking stick. Fortunately the baby was ok and went full term. She didn’t go back to work.

Can you (as a team) take it further up the chain? Do they not use agency when they don't have enough staff to fill obs?

I hope you are ok and recover soon. I had iinjuries when a oatient thew a chair at me, the report went in but nothing could be done. Has your manager done an incident and Riddor report. The rcn and management already know the wards are unsafe and its just frustrating.

Ime the management will say they provide training to deal with violence and aggression which it does but i't doesnt prevent it ,and extra agency ( again ime) can be very hit and miss some are excellent ,some are worse then useless

What @x2boys said . Also trusts are cutting back on agency.

Just figured out the best thing - heavy sarcasm - I have my interview on Monday. But I can't go for my interview if off sick, it is a disciplinary.
So hopefully I will be able to stand up straight , move my head and nod like a seal by then.
That's another reason if high repeated sickness in the nhs. We have to go back before we are ready.
I've had at last count 15 text and WhatsApp messages asking for staff.

I know it's a sore neck and back , but ffs

We're seriously not paid enough for this shit.

Never a truer word spoken!!! I promise if it were up to me you'd get 100K per year. Mind you no amount of money is enough to have to put up with abuse.
I'm not calling the attacker they probably weren't even aware of what they were doing but its abuse all the same.
I also don't blame your DH for getting angry. All he's seeing is that you're getting hurt. Its just black and white to him, of course it is.

Please don't get upset about your dm hitting out at staff, I know it's distressing for you because you know that with full capacity she'd never do that. Please do know though that as carers, we know that too and honestly, we don't take any offence to it, we just try to use calming techniques. She's most likely doing it because she's scared and doesn't understand what's happening.

Afternoon,
Stronger pain meds are a dream.

I've spoken to my manager about my interview, they did know, and that Rcn say is a disciplinary. So she had a look and forwarded me a copy of our sickness /attendance policy.
It's not mentioned.
They said as far as they are concerned, I'm applying for this job for my own mental and physical health. They said if you can be off sick with stress , go to Spain and put pictures on fb and that's ok, what's the difference.
Which is good as I was feeling under pressure last night.

Little less stiff today. I had to go through what happened with the sickness people.
I told them the most I can remember is the patient grabbing hold of my tunic and literally shaking me backwards and forewords , then dropping to the floor.
Then had a long conversation about how dogs are better than humans