ED staff at Antrim Hospital to wear body cameras to tackle abuse

Healthcare staff in Antrim Area Hospital's emergency department are to wear body-cameras as part of a pilot aimed at tackling abuse of healthcare workers.

The most recent figures show that in four years - between 2019/2020 to 2023/2024 - there were almost 56,000 recorded instances of physical abuse towards health care staff across Northern Ireland's six trusts.

There were almost 13,000 instances of verbal abuse towards staff in the same time period.

Anne O'Reilly, chair of the Northern Trust board, said it was "disappointing" that the scheme is needed, but added that she hopes the introduction of cameras will act as a deterrent.

There were almost 10,000 recorded instances of verbal or physical abuse directed towards staff in the Northern Trust between 2019/2020 to 2023/2024.

The Northern Trust is understood to be the first regional health trust to pilot the use of body-worn cameras for healthcare staff.

The pilot will run for 12 weeks from September.

The cameras will not run constantly, but will be turned on when an incident arises with a warning issued to patients beforehand.

The scheme was approved by the Northern Trust board following a five month public consultation.

"Sadly, we have become accustomed to reading headlines about health and social care staff being attacked or subjected to wholly unacceptable abuse," said Ms O'Reilly.

"We know that the vast majority of people who attend our Emergency Departments are respectful of our staff and only a very small number engage in unacceptable behaviour – but even one is one too many.

"It's encouraging to see that the overwhelming majority of respondents to the consultation (91%) are supportive of this pilot going ahead and, as a board, that gives us a great deal of reassurance that this is the right course of action."

Some emergency healthcare workers, such as paramedics, already have access to body-worn cameras when attending calls.

In 2022 the Southern Trust trialled body worn cameras at Craigavon Area and Daisy Hill hospitals for its security team.

Police officers also use similar devices, both for transparency and as an evidence gathering tool.

The Belfast Trust recorded more than 22,000 instances of physical abuse towards staff between 2019/2020 to 2023/2024 - significantly higher than any other trust.

A spokesperson for the Trust said it is considering whether to introduce a similar pilot scheme for staff to wear body cameras.

The South Eastern Trust said it currently does not have any plans to introduce body-worn cameras for staff within the Emergency Department.

It said it would continue to "monitor progress across the region to determine the effectiveness of the pilot scheme".