A major London trust has introduced body-worn cameras for its senior nurses to try and curb high levels of violence and aggression being levelled against staff.
Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust is rolling out the bodycams for senior nurses in areas that it says have been “hotspots” for abuse.
“Nobody should have to face violence and aggression as part of their job”
Bev Thomas
Specifically, the cameras will be used at the emergency departments at Royal Free Hospital and Barnet Hospital, and the Mary Rankin dialysis unit at St Pancras Hospital.
The devices will be worn on the front pockets of senior nurses and can be activated with one touch when necessary to record video and audio, but will otherwise remain inactive.
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The new bodycams at Royal Free London come as the trust said that instances of violence and aggression aimed at staff “remain high”.
In 2024, the trust recorded 2,834 security incidents, 91% of which fell under the category of violence and aggression.
Bev Thomas, director of nursing at Barnet Hospital and chair of the trust’s violence prevention and reduction committee, said: “Nobody should have to face violence and aggression as part of their job, and we hope that these cameras will have the desired effect of de-escalating situations, reducing disruption and recording an independent account of what happened.”
Royal Free London is following the footsteps of other trusts that have introduced bodycams for their staff in recent years in response to rising levels of abuse.
Among the trusts that have made the move include Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust, West London NHS Trust and Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
Paul Phillips, head of security at Royal Free London, said body-worn cameras had proved to be effective in reducing violent and aggressive behaviour.
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