Jenkins M G, Rocke L G, McNicholl B P, Hughes D M
Accident and Emergency Department, Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast, Northern Ireland.
J Accid Emerg Med. 1998 Jul;15(4):262-5. doi: 10.1136/emj.15.4.262.
To determine the incidence of verbal abuse and physical violence in accident and emergency (A&E) departments and to discover the extent of provision of security measures and instructions for staff on how to deal with these problems.
A postal questionnaire.
A&E departments in the UK and the Republic of Ireland.
Two hundred and seventy three consultants named in charge of 310 departments.
Frequency of physical violence and verbal abuse, injuries sustained, perceived precipitating factors, security measures instituted, and legal action taken.
Two hundred and thirty three replies were received. Alcohol, waiting times, recreational drug usage, and patients' expectations were perceived as the chief causes. Patients were the chief perpetrators with nurses being the commonest victims. Staff sustained 10 fractures, 42 lacerations, and 505 soft tissue injuries. There were 298 arrests and 101 court appearances that resulted in 76 convictions. Panic buttons and video cameras were the most common security measures.
Staff within A&E departments are regularly abused, both verbally and physically. Inner city departments appear to be most affected. Documentation is poor. Perpetrators are seldom convicted. There do appear to be actions which hospitals could undertake that might help to ameliorate these problems.
确定急诊部门言语虐待和身体暴力的发生率，并了解安全措施的提供程度以及针对工作人员如何处理这些问题的指导情况。
邮寄问卷调查。
英国和爱尔兰共和国的急诊部门。
负责310个部门的273名顾问。
身体暴力和言语虐待的频率、所受伤害、感知到的诱发因素、采取的安全措施以及采取的法律行动。
收到233份回复。酒精、等待时间、消遣性药物使用和患者期望被视为主要原因。患者是主要肇事者，护士是最常见的受害者。工作人员有10处骨折、42处撕裂伤和505处软组织损伤。有298人被捕，101人出庭，其中76人被定罪。紧急按钮和摄像机是最常见的安全措施。
急诊部门的工作人员经常受到言语和身体上的虐待。市中心的部门似乎受影响最大。记录不完善。肇事者很少被定罪。医院似乎可以采取一些行动来帮助改善这些问题。
