NHS staff working alone in the community are to be issued with mobile communication devices designed to help them call for help discreetly if they are in danger.
The device chosen is the Identicom made by South Yorkshire suppliers, Connexion2. It looks like a standard ID card and can be clipped on clothing or worn round the neck on a lanyard.
The firm says: "Identicom uses mobile phone technology but unlike a phone can be activated in a discreet fashion thereby ensuring no suspicion is raised. Trying to use a mobile phone to raise an alarm can often exacerbate an already difficult situation and may even be the spark that creates a flashpoint."
Health secretary, John Reid, announced the adoption of Identicom as part of a wider strategy to combat the abuse of NHS staff. "I am determined to do everything within my power to stop NHS staff suffering from violence and abuse. They dedicate their lives to caring for the sick and in return they deserve respect. Anybody who attacks our staff will face tough action and the possibility of jail.
"Up to 100,000 staff work alone in the NHS everyday and thanks to this device they will have the knowledge that help is only a button away. As recordings of incidents can be used as evidence in court hearings, it also offers the police and the NHS Security Management Service valuable information in punishing these criminals."
Health visitor Anne Lewis of North Liverpool PCT (above), who visits families in their homes in the districts of Fazakerley, Walton and Aintree, has been trialing the device and feels much safer.
She commented: "I visit up to 10 families a day and although problems are rare you never know what you might encounter. The device is easy to use, it records my whereabouts each time I walk up to a house for an appointment meaning that I can always be tracked down.
"It is also very discreet; it doesn’t look like a panic alarm which means that I can secretly activate the alarm without arousing the suspicion of the patient and potentially inflaming the situation."
The Department of Health says that in 2002/03 there were 116,000 incidents of verbal and physical abuse reported in the NHS. The NHS Security Management Service is responsibile for work to tackle the problem.