Assaults on NHS staff
Assaults on staff cross borders and organisational boundaries
E-mail viruses
Columbia Kidnapping
Assaults on NHS staff
28 June 2004
Cadre Control describes the large and growing problem of violence and aggression directed toward NHS staff - and the wide range of steps that a National Audit Office report has identified as necessary to reverse the trend.
The UK’s National Health Service is Europe’s largest employer, with over a million employees – and perhaps the most victimised by violence and aggression directed toward its staff, with nearly 100,000 incidents in one recent year. Severe as it is, the problem is also increasing, with a 13 per cent increase in a recent two-year period.
A recent National Audit Office report, A Safer Place to Work: Protecting NHS Hospital and Ambulance Staff from Violence and Aggression, should be required reading for senior managers responsible for staff security in any large organisation. It details the dimensions of the problem of assaults on staff, the recent sharp increase in the problem, and steps that are being taken, or should be taken, to reduce it.
The report recommends a wide range of steps to address the problem. It recommends that the NHS work in partnership with “local police and also the Home Office, Crown Prosecution Service, Social Services and the media”. Even this broad list leaves out other involved entities, such as private security companies, unions and the affected employees themselves.
Cadre Control offers services that apply directly to problems such as aggression and violence in the workplace. Risk assessment, security, training and crisis management are clearly all elements of any comprehensive solution to prevent or control such a problem. We also bring a strong financial orientation to our recommendations.
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Assaults on staff cross borders and organisational boundaries
24 June 2004
Cadre Control shows how violence and aggression against staff extend well beyond the NHS, affecting organisations of many types across the UK and around the world.
Geographically, several areas with the hardest-hit NHS trusts are near the
Scottish border – but so are two of the safest, relatively speaking. Two
areas just east of London are badly affected, while the capital itself is a
bit below average in its ratio of incidents.
Perhaps not surprisingly, security work is the most dangerous, according to
a recent National Audit Office report:
- Security and protective services people have an 11.4% risk of violent assault
while working
- Nurses are next at 5.0%
- Public transit workers have a violent assault rate of 2.8%
- Care workers, welfare workers, and hotel and restaurant workers are in
the same range, with a rate of 2.7%
- Teachers and retail salespeople suffer at a rate well above average, with
a violent assault rate of 1.8%
- The average risk for all jobs is 1.2%
A wide range of steps is likely to be needed to address this problem, with
each kind of workplace needing different solutions. Working with police, prosecutors,
social services and the media are all likely to be necessary. (“Media”
can mean anything from posters and employee magazines right up to the BBC and
the world press.) Private security companies, unions, affected employees and
others will have a role to play. Many organisations can avoid aggression and
assaults on staff entirely by taking appropriate steps – and have both
legal and practical obligations to do so.
Other countries are far from immune to this kind of problem – and the
need to find solutions. In Ireland, assaults on healthcare workers doubled in
a recent five-year period. An Australian hospital won kudos for reducing assaults
on staff to a record low – but is still trying to cut assaults from seven
a month to zero. And an American university has detailed plans in place for
critical incidents, including assaults on staff.
Cadre Control can help you establish whether, and to what extent, your organisation
currently suffers from violence and aggressive behaviour against staff, and
identify and eliminate vulnerabilities that otherwise might contribute to incidents.
We can help you create a plan, to include such elements as training and security
improvements, that not only will help you “do something”, but also
demonstrate that you are in fact doing something – both of which are important
in creating a secure environment in the workplace.
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E-mail viruses
21 January 2004
Cadre Control points to the need for business continuity planning for Internet-related problems such as denial of service attacks (directed at your company or suppliers, partners or customers) and Internet downtimes.
Few companies have well-thought-out plans for the possibly serious business disruption caused by problems with the Internet. The continuing series of virus and worm attacks on the Internet point the way to ongoing, or possibly even more severe, problems likely to occur in the future.
How can you ensure the prosperity – or, in the worst scenarios, the continued functioning – of your business or other organisation in a variety of emergency situations?
Mounting evidence points to the fact that it is ridiculously easy for relatively unskilled hackers to mount denial of service attacks on an organisation or create viruses or worms of unpredictable – but often serious – effect on part or all of the Internet. Skilled operators, such as blackmailers or, possibly, terrorists, who target a specific company can do even worse.
Reacting effectively to tricky Internet security problems is difficult when the viability of crucial operations may be at stake on an hourly basis. Reducing the pressure to restore functionality in a matter of minutes increase the odds that an effective solution can be found in a matter of hours or just a few days. Vulnerability to blackmail – a growing problem – is nearly eliminated when an organisation has pre-planned options besides either shutdown or surrender.
Cadre Control creates business continuity plans for our clients online operations that explains, in business rather than technical terms, where their organisation’s operational vulnerabilities in the IT area are – and how to create plans to work around them.
Cadre Control will also point the way to technical and business decisions that will increase the security and flexibility of our clients operations. For larger organisations and those that are influential in industry lobbies and user groups, we will discuss with you how to effectively lobby suppliers and governments to take steps to plug gaps that make it all too easy for skilled and focussed opponents, or even an unskilled hobbyist to massively disrupt operations and compromise confidential information.
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Columbia Kidnapping
24 September 2003
Cadre Control discusses the kidnap of eight foreign tourists - and subsequent escape of one - in Columbia. The extent of the kidnapping problem means that organisations should make safety information available to employees and undertake an immediate assessment of kidnapping risk.
A week ago Sunday, the Columbian police announced that at least eight foreign
tourists had been kidnapped by suspected members of the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias
de Columbia (the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia), known by the acronym
FARC.
British, German, and Israeli nationals are among the missing. They were taken
while hiking in an area of the Sierra Nevada mountains that is disputed among
Marxist guerrillas, right-wing paramilitaries and drug traffickers, according
to the BBC. One British citizen has recently escaped - possibly allowed to escape
as a less valuable bargaining chip.
Kidnapping has soared in recent years as a problem for businesses and other organizations.
There are several issues related to kidnapping that any employer must consider,
which include:
- How to warn employees away from dangerous areas - on business trips or
even on vacation
- How to provide security against kidnapping on business trips and during
the pursuit of normal operations
- How to assess the risk of kidnapping in various areas of operations and
markets to which employees travel
- How to handle a kidnapping and the subsequent negotiations when they occur
- How to ensure business continuity during and after a kidnapping crisis
- How to reduce exposure to, and liability for, kidnapping and related problems
Organisations are increasingly establishing travel risk policies. For instance,
the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), a top US university, has an
extensive travel risk policy that addresses standards of medical care as well
as kidnapping and other safety risks.
This policy names the top risks as: Afghanistan; Central African Republic; Colombia;
Iran; Iraq; Liberia; Libya; Pakistan; Somalia; Sudan; West Bank and Gaza. Other
countries frequently cited as high-risk, in specific areas or in whole, include
Brazil, Guatemala, India, Mexico, Nigeria, the Philippines, Russia and the rest
of the former Soviet Union, Venezuela, and Yemen. Even the United States features
on some lists.
Not only are organisations targeted as sources of victims and ransom payments,
they may also suffer legal liability if they fail to take adequate steps to
alert and protect employees and others travelling with them.
A comprehensive assessment of kidnapping risk is a crucial first step organisations
should take in addressing this growing problem. Cadre Control offers a full
range of services customised to the needs of specific clients.
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