BLACKBURN with Darwen Primary Care Trust has welcomed a new hard-hitting approach to tackling verbal abuse against medical staff launched by the NHS Security Management Service.

Action against offenders will now be dealt with by a system of sanctions appropriate to the full range of incidents that occur in the workplace, ranging from verbal warnings through to legal action according to how severe and persistent the abuse is.

Verbal abuse and threatening behaviour can involve not only shouting and swearing but also derogatory or discriminatory comments, spitting, stalking, threats and even death threats. It can have a huge effect on recruitment, retention and morale of staff.

The PCT will be developing its own approach to deal with abusive patients, relatives and visitors.

Practical support is available from the Security Management Service's Legal Protection Unit which offers legal advice to support the NHS when it wants to take legal action, or assist the police and Crown Prosecution Service to take cases forward.

Director of Corporate Development at Blackburn with Darwen PCT, David Brunskill welcomed the guidance, saying: "We are determined to do everything in our power to protect our staff from abuse. NHS staff, particularly frontline workers and clinicians are essential to the healthcare of local people and abuse will not be tolerated."