Nurses – De-Escalation Training

Yes — a New Zealand Nurses Organisation survey of mental health nurses found 76% had been threatened and 40% physically assaulted within a single year, and separate research shows one in three nurses nationwide endure physical assault annually.

Every day there are more and more stories of violence in the media. It seems we can’t switch on the TV or radio, scroll through Facebook, or trawl our favourite news sources without coming across a tragic tale of an innocent person being assaulted for no reason. The increasing stresses of everyday life, the rising incidence of drug and alcohol abuse, and the fact that many people appear to be on a shorter fuse make aggressive altercations almost commonplace.

Workplace violence, unfortunately, is on the rise in New Zealand healthcare specifically. Health NZ Te Whatu Ora data shows 6,635 assaults on hospital workers were reported in the 12 months to June 2024, up from 6,001 the year before — and a survey of NZ emergency nurses found 84% had experienced unacceptable behaviour over a single holiday period, with 77% of those feeling genuinely threatened.

There are many situations in which nurses are extremely vulnerable. Angry or out of control patients and relatives can cause problems. Long waits in emergency rooms and low staffing levels can cause tempers to run high. Inadequate security measures such as broken locks, few or no security guards, and poorly lit car parks expose nurses to potential harm. And of course, the presence of drugs and weapons make a hospital an unpredictable and high-risk environment.