The challenge for health authorities is to implement effective preventive strategies and a zero-tolerance policy
Although in Australia the risk of death or serious physical injury from a violent workplace incident is quite remote, each year about one Australian health worker is murdered at work1 and large numbers are either verbally abused, bullied or assaulted.2
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- 1 Department of Management, Griffith University, Nathan, QLD.
- 2 Mental Health Review Tribunal, NSW.
Correspondence:
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- 3. Di Martino V. Workplace violence in the health sector. Country case studies Brazil, Bulgaria, Lebanon, Portugal, South Africa, Thailand and an additional Australian study. Synthesis report. Geneva: International Labour Office, International Council of Nurses, World Health Organization and Public Services International. Joint Programme on Workplace Violence in the Health Sector, 2002. Available at: http://www.icn.ch/SynthesisReportWorkplaceViolenceHealthSector.pdf (accessed Aug 2005).
- 4. Chappell D, Di Martino V. Violence at work. 2nd ed, Table 16. Geneva: International Labour Office, 2000: 68.
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- 8. Ferguson H. Violence against GPs common. Australian Doctor 2005; 14 Jan: 1-2.
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- 10. Mayhew C, Peterson C, editors. Guide to managing OHS risks in the health care industry. Sydney: CCH Australia, 2005.
- 11. National Health Service. A safer place to work: protecting NHS hospital and ambulance staff from violence and aggression. Report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, 27 March 2003. London: The Stationery Office. Available at: http://www.nao.org.uk/publications/nao_reports/02-03/0203527es.pdf (accessed Aug 2005).
- 12. Rogers K, Chappell D. Preventing and responding to violence at work. Geneva: International Labour Office, 2003.
- 13. Jeffery R, Zahm D. Crime prevention through environmental design, opportunity theory, and rational choice models. In: Clarke R, Felson M, editors. Routine activity and rational choice: advances in criminological theory, vol. 5. Somerset, NJ: Transaction Publishers, 1993.
- 14. National Health Service. Withholding treatment from violent and abusive patients in NHS Trusts: we don’t have to take this. Resource guide. NHS, Department of Health, 2002. Available at: http://www.nhs.uk/zerotolerance/downloads/withholding.pdf (accessed Aug 2005).
- 15. WorkCover Authority (NSW) (Inspector Pompili) v Central Sydney Area Health Service (2002) NSWIR Commission 44 (Para 89 and 90).
- 16. Benveniste KA, Hibbert PD, Runciman WB. Violence in health care: the contribution of the Australian Patient Safety Foundation to incident monitoring and analysis. Med J Aust 2005; 183: 348-351.
- 17. Forster JA, Petty MT, Schleiger C, Walters HC. kNOw workplace violence: developing programs for managing the risk of aggression in the health care setting. Med J Aust 2005; 183: 357-361.
- 18. Kennedy MP. Violence in emergency departments: under-reported, unconstrained, and unconscionable. Med J Aust 2005; 183: 362-365.
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