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Nov 2022

Last Updated: 25/11/2022

Health

Harrogate hospital employs security staff for first time

by Vicky Carr

| 24 Nov, 2022

The security officers work overnight, particularly focusing on the accident and emergency department, to offer reassurance to staff in case of any incidents.

johnathan-coulter-and-harrogate-hospital

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:

"We were always reluctant to have our own security service on the hospital site because we felt we were a health service, not anything else. I know other trusts went much more quickly into having dedicated security personnel on site.

"We have in the last six months introduced, between 7pm and 7am overnight, our own security service, which is a bit of a shame that we've had to do that, but it was something that made the staff feel safer, particularly in the early hours with the emergency department where Harrogate has never had a problem before, but has had an increasing problem.

"I wouldn't say it's anything like we get lots of these incidents, it's a handful of incidents but they don't need to happen very often for it to be disturbing and for people to get concerned about it."

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:

"I find it quite alarming that staff and volunteers have to deal with this situation."

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.

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Harrogate hospital employs security staff for first time

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