Assaulted @ work by patient

Dcully

Hi folks im just seeking some advice please if i may.

My wife is nurse in a residential unit for mentally handicapped people.
She came home from work just now for her lunch and instantly i knew by her something was wrong.
After a few tears she explained she just got thumped in her upper arm and shoulder area by a resident.
The resident in guestion has a history of voilent outbursts and assaults on staff.

My wifes upper arm is red to look at and bruising is starting.
Go to the doctor i hear you say, the thing is she is afraid of disciplinary action becasue apparently the last few months management are issueing warnings left right and center to staff who are out sick.

She has a very good attendance record but has missed 20 days in the past year for common complaints eg migraine, vomiting bug etc.

Is she being overly cautious?

Personally im telling her to go see a doctor which she is arranging at the moment as i type.
Im expecting the doctor to tell her to take 2-3 days off, i could be wrong.

She is nervous about taking any time over this but i just feel she has been assaulted and should not just brush this under the carpet thus going back to work after her lunch and putting up with it.

Thoughts appreciated, thanks!

Sleipnir

Well it's a work-related injury so does the company have any procedures for that specifically?
Is there an Health & Safety Officer?

Dcully

Sleipnir wrote: »

Well it's a work-related injury so does the company have any procedures for that specifically?
Is there an Health & Safety Officer?

afaik there is a h&s officer.
This has become a regular occurance with this particular patient and one or two more but its the first time my wife was on the recieving end.
Whem she filled out her report form and reported to her manager nobody even asked if she was ok.
This makes me fruious.

As for procedures im not fully sure, all i know another woman was out for 12 months after being assaulted by this particular patient.

kmick

Sorry to hear she got assaulted I think it is common with phsych patients however 20 days is a lot of sick days in 12 month period. I mean if she needs more sick time then she needs it. As long as she has a cert from the doctor she should be fine.

Dcully

Yes all days are certified, she does have a migraine problem which contributed to the vast majority of days missed.

seamus

This is a thorny one when working with the mentally disabled because on one hand it's nigh on impossible to hold the patient liable for their actions (legally or morally) but on the other hand, the staff should still be protected from serious injury as much as any other worker in the country.

In that particular area, there's a certain amount of "it comes with the job" attitude, but that doesn't absolve the employer of their duty of care to their staff. If the patient is know for violence (and many mentally disabled people are horrendously strong because they have no inhibitions in regard to the use of force), then the employer should ensure that there is adequate staff in place to control the patient when they are being cared for.
Was she on her own at the time?

Dcully

seamus wrote: »

This is a thorny one when working with the mentally disabled because on one hand it's nigh on impossible to hold the patient liable for their actions (legally or morally) but on the other hand, the staff should still be protected from serious injury as much as any other worker in the country.

In that particular area, there's a certain amount of "it comes with the job" attitude, but that doesn't absolve the employer of their duty of care to their staff. If the patient is know for violence (and many mentally disabled people are horrendously strong because they have no inhibitions in regard to the use of force), then the employer should ensure that there is adequate staff in place to control the patient when they are being cared for.
Was she on her own at the time?

She was not alone when this happened but i must stress no restraint is allowed with such patients.
Id also like to add this patient is physically intimidating.

Thanks folks for your replies,ive insisted she takes the afternoon off and goes to our GP this afternoon, appointment has been made,lets see what happens.

seamus

No, restraints wouldn't be appropriate, but a minimum of four larger staff members with the patient would be.

Dcully

seamus wrote: »

No, restraints wouldn't be appropriate, but a minimum of four larger staff members with the patient would be.

You see thats my point, there should be some protection for staff but atm they are under staffed with all the cutbacks.

Varkov

I know that the main issue is that she should have some sort of protection against a physicly impossing patient with a history of violent outbursts. But taking the day off to go to a GP for a bruise on her arm?

I really, really think that is over reacting. the gp cant do anything for her, all he can do is take €50 off her and say "Your arm is bruised" and whats the point of taking 2-3 days off for it? That seems to be the mentality that is leading to 20 sick days in the last year for things like colds, headaches and the sniffles.

Id say she should talk to her manager and request one or two male staff accompany her when treating this patient. But she should go into work tomorrow as normal and shouldnt even concider taking one day off over this.

Dcully

I really, really think that is over reacting. the gp cant do anything for her, all he can do is take €50 off her and say "Your arm is bruised" and whats the point of taking 2-3 days off for it? That seems to be the mentality that is leading to 20 sick days in the last year for things like colds, headaches and the sniffles.

Didnt you even read this thread?
Have you ever had proper migraine?
Obviously not because it is appaling, you simply cannot function.
When i say migraine i mean full on migraine with stiffness down the arm and slurred speach, this is hardly a cough sniffle or a simple headache.

Id say she should talk to her manager and request one or two male staff accompany her when treating this patient. But she should go into work tomorrow as normal and shouldnt even concider taking one day off over this.

Ofcourse this has been requested many many times, honestly do you think she is stupid?

FYI she went to the doctor and has soft tissue damage with a right good bruise, she can barely use the arm , hardly over reacting as you call it.
Finally everyone should be safe in their workplace.

I havent even mentioned the fright and shock she got which can often be worse than the physical damage.

Varkov

Just my two cents mate.

You asked if we thought she was being overly cautios. I thought she was.

miec

Hi Op

To begin with in fairness the post wasn't very clear because you brought in both the migraines and the bruising on your wife's arm. When she was assaulted did she develop a migraine as well at the same time? I think that is why Varkov mentioned it was only a bruised arm.

However, on to the other issue, your wife being assaulted. When I read your post it brought me back to the situation I was in. When I was much younger I worked in a residential home for people with learning disabilities in the UK, it was during the time that the care in the community act came in so they let a lot of long term residents in high security hospitals into new residential homes. The place I was in paid minimum wage to the care workers and normal rates for the nurses, which is fair enough. The accommodation was immaculate, the food was good and overall they tried to maintain a high standard, where they failed miserably was health and safety. I should say I loved the job with a passion, I was passionate about helping people with disabilities to live more independently, however, like your wife I was assaulted but in my case several times. It was considered part of the job, however, it became too much for me. One resident constantly pulled my hair, it was not her fault, she could not help it, but she was a problem patient who was moved to the place I worked in.

Another patient was known to be extremely violent and one day I was on my own completely with eight patients who had severe learning difficulties (a full time nurse should have been there at all times) and this resident had a tantrum, in one of her tantrums she hurled a filing cabinet, she had immense strength. This day she had a tantrum which was escalating into violence and I'll be honest I nearly urinated on myself I was that afraid. I did pull the panic cord but in the time someone else came I could have been dead meat. I had many, many encounters like that and I think this is the crux of the problem with the caring industry. The physical assault is part of the job because the patient can't help it, and many places expect people to just get on with it, but this results in higher levels of stress related illness, which in the case of your wife, could be the cause of her migraines, etc, etc. I would suggest that your wife talks to the manager about safety and how to handle these situations, I was unfortunately sacked because I was unable to deal with it but I had no training and at the time I was too wet behind the ears to stand up for myself. I was devasted at the time, but looking back they did me a favour because in reality I was not suited to the work. It could be your wife is not suited to the work either if she is getting migraines from this, however, if they are caused by other factors please ignore my assumption there.
I think if your wife does go on the sick she should explain why (the assault) and ask the management what can be done to help staff cope with this without getting too stressed, upset or ill.

GER12

There seems to be two issues here - if your wife has an injury - she should go and get it seen by a doctor.

I dont know whether your wife is a social care worker, nurse or other person employed. What I will say is that the employer has a duty of care under the health, Safety & Welfare at Work Act 2005.... irrespective of the care environment or patient's mental capacity.

If there is a patient with a known history to exhibit aggressive and violent behaviour - in managing that hazard and risk - a risk assessment should be undertaken. Measures should then be put in place for managing that risk with policies and procedures detailing how to respond to violent incidents. Staff should fully understand what these measures are and how to respond to critical incidents if and when they arise. This would include having adequate staff/patient ratios, staff training - understanding causes of aggression/violent behaviour and how to manage aggressive and violent episodes whether through de-escalation, break-away techniques etc.

The other issue - is after any violent/aggressive incident and incident form should be filled in. Any staff member who is involved in that incident should be removed from risk of further injury and also debriefed to ascertain what had happened. The person in charge of the unit - is the person responsible for initially managing any critical incident response. It is also the responsibility of management. Your wife would also be entitled to receive counselling - if she wished to.