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Nurses with bodycams: minister in talks over use of cameras in NHS

Nursing staff face threat of sexual assault and harassment as a matter of routine, so would body-worn cameras be the protection they are looking for?
Unidentified nurse wears small body camera on the front of her uniform to deter assault from patients or the public

Nursing staff face threat of sexual assault and harassment as a matter of routine, so would body-worn cameras be the protection they are looking for?

Unidentified nurse wears small body camera on the front of her uniform to deter assault from patients or the public
Use of bodycams is divisive among nursing staff Picture: Calla

Nurses and other front-line NHS staff could be asked to wear body cameras in a bid to curb rising sexual violence in hospitals.

Health and social care secretary Steve Barclay is reportedly considering giving healthcare staff cameras, similar to those worn by police officers.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) confirmed Mr Barclay met health leaders on 21 April to discuss use of bodycams, among other safety measures, after shocking figures on sexual assault and rape in hospitals were revealed.

Data on hospital-based assaults are the tip of the iceberg, says Women’s Rights Network

Campaign group Women’s Rights Network (WRN) compiled damning statistics showing there had been 6,539 reports of rape and sexual assault in hospitals in England and Wales since 2019. There were an average of 33 rapes and sexual assaults every week, according to the data uncovered through Freedom of Information requests.

Worryingly, the statistics do not even represent a complete picture of what is happening in hospitals UK-wide, because not all police services released figures, and the forces in Scotland and Northern Ireland both declined to do so.

The WRN said their findings are ‘probably the tip of an iceberg of indifference’ to the safety of NHS patients and staff because, it said, some police forces gave ‘inadequate’ information.

Sexual harassment of nurses ‘seen as part of the job’

Meanwhile, nursing staff responding to a Nursing Standard survey this month highlighted their experiences of sexual harassment at work.

‘A patient squeezed my bottom when I was helping to roll them in bed. Another patient put his hand on my leg and then quickly removed it when his wife returned. I felt very uncomfortable and froze,’ one nurse said.

Another said these incidents were ‘just seen as part of the job’. They added: ‘At handover, it will be communicated as “be careful of patient in bed B2, he is very touchy”.’

Body cameras is a divisive issue among nurses, and it raises ethical concerns about trust and privacy. But some trials have resulted in a fall in reports of abuse and violence. A trial at John Radcliffe Hospital, in Oxford, in which emergency department nurses wear tiny cameras on their uniforms and switch them on if someone was being violent or abusive, has coincided with incidents falling by half.

Nurses need to see employers and the NHS take action against harassment and abuse

Unison’s head of health Sara Gorton said bodycams could increase the chances of bringing perpetrators to justice but added employers needed to do more to combat abuse.

The Department for Health and Social Care said it is working with NHS England to create a ‘national violence prevention hub’ to ensure healthcare staff can work in a safe environment.

NHS director of sexual assault services commissioning Kate Davies said: ‘Preventing these attacks from occurring in the first place is a priority. We have a programme dedicated to this and have appointed our first national clinical lead to drive forward action.’


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