Faculty of Public Health responds to White Paper
Monday 6 June 2005
NHS staff – hidden victims of alcohol-related violence
Each year 116,000 NHS staff – over 10% of all staff – are assaulted. Given than one million drinkers end up in A&E departments, NHS staff have clearly become the hidden victims of alcohol-related violence.
Much of the media focuses on alcohol-related violence in pubs and clubs, and in the streets. But nurses and doctors are being prevented from doing their job – including helping victims of alcohol-related violence – by patients and relatives who act violently as a consequence of alcohol misuse.
At the Faculty's annual conference tomorrow, President, Professor Rod Griffiths will call for public health to take the lead on this issue: “Alcohol-related violence isn't just an issue for the police or A&E departments. We need to stop it before it happens. This is where public health comes in. We can drive forward the health promotion and prevention agenda, pushing for early interventions in schools and the community.” Pre-school interventions with parents and children have shown to reduce the risk of becoming either a victim or perpetrator of violence in later life.
The NHS also has a statutory obligation to be involved in local Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships, and Community Safety Partnerships. Public health needs to be instrumental in driving forward the health agenda. Stopping people ending up in police cells or A&E departments after a night can only be achieved by mainstreaming public health into these strategies to regulate the rapidly expanding night-time economy. Only public health has the analytical expertise to pull together data from different sources, that can be used to effectively target police and other resources.
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