Not attending mandatory training courses is putting doctors working in Britain’s hospitals at risk of serious injury from violent patients, according to a new survey.
The London Training Company & Oliver Brennan Training has found that less than a tenth of junior doctors have undergone any form of conflict-resolution training.
This compares with 78% of nurses and 84% of therapy staff among the 860 NHS employees (including 96 doctors) surveyed over the past 2.5 years.
Many doctors did not know that such training was mandatory, and most were unaware that such training was available in their place of work.
Worryingly, one in three did not believe they were entitled to attend the courses, even though they were working in high-risk areas where violence was a regular occurrence, such as A&E, Neurology and Mental Health.
All believed that training in conflict management is very important, and would be willing to undergo such training on a regular basis, at least every 18 months.
Copyright Press Association 2008
