Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gbm5v Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T22:21:01.005Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Consultant psychiatrists' experience of workplace violence – a national survey

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 June 2014

Annette Kavanagh  and
Liam Watters
Annette Kavanagh*
Affiliation:
Connolly Norman House, 224 North Circular Road, Dublin 7
Liam Watters
Affiliation:
Wexford Mental Health Service, St. Senan's Hospital, Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford
*
*Correspondence Email: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Objectives: In recent years there have been a number of high profile cases in Irish psychiatry where consultant psychiatrists have been subjected to serious physical assaults. The last survey of assaults on consultant psychiatrists in Ireland was carried out in 1998. Therefore we sought to update the data on this topic.

Method: An anonymous questionnaire was sent out by post to all consultant psychiatrists (n = 330) identified as currently working in the Republic of Ireland.

Results: The response rate was 48.2%. Sixty per cent of respondents were working in general adult psychiatry and respondents were evenly spread throughout the country. Ninety per cent of respondents had been the victim of verbal aggression/intimidation/threatening behaviour while 55% had been physically assaulted. The majority of incidents involved male patients aged between 21-40 years with a diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia. Nearly 66% of incidents of physical violence occurred during a relapse of illness. The perpetrator had a history of violence in approximately half of all reported incidents. Physical assaults tended to occur more commonly in inpatient settings (63.7%).

Incident reporting occurred more often in physical assaults with 66% reported informally to colleagues and 20% reported to An Garda Siochana (police force of Ireland). Eighty-nine (56%) consultants described feeling ‘safe’ at work. Less than 50% reported the provision of standard safety equipment in the workplace and nearly half ofrespondents had not attended any safety training courses since their appointment. Longer experience working as a consultant psychiatrist did not appear to have an impact on reducing the rate of assaults. In addition, those who attended safety training courses did not report a reduced rate of physical assaults.

Conclusions: These findings highlight the need for both organisational and personal changes in practice in order to reduce the assault rate. Organisational changes include the provision of appropriate safety equipment, safety training for consultants, enhancing multidisciplinary teams and utilising risk assessment. Consultants' personal practices to improve their safety may offer useful information for inclusion in safety training courses. This is an area which merits further research.

Keywords

ViolenceConsultant psychiatristPhysical assaultVerbal aggressionThreateningIntimidatingReportingSafety trainingSafety equipmentRisk assessment
Type
Original Papers
Information
Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine , Volume 27 , Issue 2 , June 2010 , pp. 77 - 81
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1.Assaults on psychiatrists – a three year retrospective study. Ir J Psych Med 1998; 15(2): 54–57.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
2.Safety in Psychiatry – The Mind's Eye. Royal College of Psychiatrists, 2000 (video)Google Scholar
3.NHS zero tolerance zone campaign: Tackling violence in primary care, ambulance, mental health and community settings, Department of Health UK, 2000.Google Scholar
4.O'Donnell, I. The Fall and Rise of Homicide in Ireland. Springer New York, 2008. ISBN 978-0-387-74507-7Google Scholar
5.Garda Reported Crime statistics 2003-2007. Central Statistics Office. February 2009.Google Scholar
6. Eurofound – European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions: Annual report 2007Google Scholar
7.McKenna, K. Workplace violence prevention strategies and research methods. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. NIOSH Publication No. 2006-144: September 2006. North East Health Board, Study of Work Related Violence, 2004Google Scholar
8.The Report of the Task Force into Assaults on Psychiatric Nurses. Department of Health and Children, 2005.Google Scholar
9.Health and Safety Authority (HSA). Report of the Advisory Committee on the Health Services Sector. Dublin: Health and Safety Authority, (2001b).Google Scholar
10.Dhumad, S. Violence against psychiatrists by patients: survey in a London mental health trust. Psychiat Bull 2007; 31: 371–374.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
11.Rush, G, Reidy, J, Wright, Bet al.Safety at Work: national survey of psychiatrists in basic training in Ireland. Psychiat Bull 2008; 32: 256–258.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
12.Paranoid schizophrenic who stabbed doctor not guilty by reason of insanity. Irish Times, Wednesday July 23, 2008Google Scholar
13.Man appears in court in connection with psychiatric unit stabbings. Irish Independent, Friday January 18, 2008Google Scholar
14.Mental Health Commission. Annual Report 2006 Including the Report of the Inspector of Mental Health Services. Dublin: Mental Health Commission, 2006.Google Scholar
15. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences: Version 13.0Google Scholar
16.Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics. Criminal Victimisation in the Workforce 2004.Google Scholar
17.Weaver, T, Tyrer, P, Ritchie, J, Renton, A. Assessing thevalue of assertive outreach. Br J Psychiat 2003; 183: 437–445.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
18.Thienhaus, OJ, Piasecki, M. Emergency psychiatry: assessment of psychiatric patients' risk of violence toward others. Psychiatr Serv 1998; 49: 1129–1147.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
19.Violence at work: the experience of UK doctors. British Medical Association, January 2008Google Scholar
20.Violence at work: the experience of UK doctors, British Medical Association, October 2003Google Scholar
21.Thomas, C, Bartlett, AEA, Mezey, GC. The extent and effects of violence among psychiatric in-patients. Psychiat Bull 1995; 19: 600–604.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
22.Royal College of Psychiatrists. Management of Imminent Violence. Occasional Paper OP41. London: Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1998.Google Scholar
23.Molyneux, G, Wright, B, Rush, Get al.Psychiatric training – a dangerous pursuit. Psychiat Bull 2009; 33: 189–192.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
24.Babbie, ER. Survey research methods. Belmont, California: Wadsworth, 1973.Google Scholar