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WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE MINISTER FOR HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES BY DEPUTY M. TADIER OF ST. BRELADE
ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON MONDAY 13th JULY 2009
Question
Will the Minister inform members on how many occasions, if any in the past 5 years the police and/or other emergency services have been called out to St Saviour's hospital and the other mental health establishments as a result of staff being unable to restrain and deal with violent patients and will she provide these figures with a breakdown per year as well as a general total?'
Answer
I wish it to be noted that the vast majority of people with mental health problems are not violent and are much more likely to be victims of assault rather than the perpetrators of it. All professional staff working with clients in crisis are skilled and trained in diffusing potentially challenging situations. All serious incidents involving violence are the subject of a review with the aim of learning lessons as to how future incidents can be more effectively managed. Such staff receive regular training in this crucial aspect of health care.
The Mental Health Directorate within my Department does not keep records on the number of times the States of Jersey Police are called to either St Saviour's Hospital or to other locations where clients reside. Whilst it may be important to the States of Jersey Police as to the number of times they are called to St Saviour's to intervene, to the Mental Health Service this is not an important indicator – as every incident is treated entirely on its merits with the focus being on the least intrusive, the least threatening, but the most therapeutic way of resolving such incidents.