National Hospitals Office of the
Health Service Executive of Ireland has ordered hospitals to take immediate
action to deal with violence and aggression against staff. Director Pat Mc
Loughlin has issued guidelines on this issue to be implemented immediately.
Recent investigations have discovered violence and aggression to be one of the
main risks in emergency departments. The main hazards surround patients dealing
with substance abuse issues. Among the measures suggested are security guards
in the units at weekends, a new criminal offence where people engage in abusive
or threatening behavior and a doubling of the visiting charge people attending
who are simply drunk and not genuinely ill.