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24
Nov 2022
Harrogate hospital employs security staff for first time
Security staff have been employed for the first time at Harrogate District Hospital in response to a growing number of reports of aggressive and abusive behaviour.
The security officers work overnight, particularly focusing on the accident and emergency department, to offer reassurance to staff.
Speaking at a meeting of North Yorkshire County Council's Harrogate and Knaresborough area constituency committee today, Jonathan Coulter, chief executive of Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust, said:
Mr Coulter was responding to a question from Cllr Michael Schofield, who said he had read about an increase in verbal abuse from patients and visitors when they were asked to wear face masks.
Cllr Schofield, a Liberal Democrat who represents Harlow & St George's division, added:
Mr Coulter said compliance with mask-wearing was "amazingly" high early in the pandemic and at the beginning of each lockdown, but had dropped since then and some volunteers were being verbally abused for asking people to put on masks.
Read more:
- Plea for Harrogate hospital visitors to wear masks after people refuse to follow guidance
- Harrogate hospital has 'robust plan' to tackle winter demand, say officials
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