Acts of violence, rooted in the daily lives of healthcare professionals

The National Observatory of Violence in Healthcare Settings is recording an increasing number of violent episodes. This violence includes various entities such as physical assaults (blows), verbal assaults (insults), psychological assaults (threats, insecurity, discomfort), and material assaults.

Aggressiveness from patients and their families is omnipresent and spares no department or hospital. Indeed, the hospital is a place conducive to violent acts due to the factors that can be found there. Patient anxiety, tensions related to available resources and the demand for care, immediacy of the information desired, increasingly complex organization, changing demands of society, emotions...
Clearly, violence has become a significant part of healthcare professionals' daily lives. 

The repetition of these acts of violence in the daily lives of caregivers generates real difficulties for healthcare professionals, particularly in terms of psychosocial risks (burnout, post-traumatic stress, etc.).
In addition, the true mission of these caregivers, which is to treat and help patients and their loved ones, can be diverted, leading to disruptions in the care process.

To ensure the safety of healthcare professionals and patients, it is essential to secure the care process with solutions to the problem of violence in healthcare. 

According to HAS, more than half of violent episodes are avoidable, and the rest could be better managed. ‍

The SafeTeam Academy's advice: organize yourself daily to no longer suffer violence and refocus on care‍

To take action in the face of episodes of violence, strategies exist and must be implemented within healthcare facilities.

According to the HAS, to avoid moments of violence, we need to act on 3 different levels. 

• From admission and throughout the care pathway: 
  

- Learning to identify and reduce tensions that can lead to violent situations by maintaining the relationship with the patient through listening and a caring presence.
The main cause of these tensions is a lack of communication (misunderstanding of the situation, distortion of the message, etc.). That is why the care given to the discourse is essential.

- Take the time to listen, to know the patient's history and background as soon as they arrive. Take the time to rephrase, to use positive terms, to show kindness, or to involve the patient in an individualized care plan.

• When there is a rise in tension: 

To prevent moments of violence, it is necessary to listen to the patient but also to identify their specific warning signs in order to implement effective solutions upstream with the patient to avoid any escalation towards violence.

• After a rise in tension or if the violent incident could not be avoided: 

- Identifying risks and relational responses by adjusting one's responses in a proportionate manner. 

- Reassure the patient about their capacity for control and prevent them from having a negative experience of the moment. To do this, it is necessary to try to restore the bond of trust and try to understand the triggering elements.‍

What solutions does SafeTeam Academy offer?‍

The prevention and management of episodes of violence must always be among the priorities of healthcare facilities. It is essential to implement individual and collective strategies, developed around common values. 

Within each hospital, a strategy for preventing violent episodes must guide the daily work of professionals, and each instance of violence must be subject to collective analysis. 

Thus, the SafeTeam Academy offers on its innovative training platform, a module dedicated to the management of violent patients.

The module's objective? To provide caregivers with the tools necessary to implement a strategy for preventing violent episodes through advice, warnings, and practices to adopt.