Loading...
Violence and under-reporting: Learning disability nursing and the impact of environment, experience and banding
Lovell, Andy Skellern, Joanne Mason, Tom
Lovell, Andy
Skellern, Joanne
Mason, Tom
Advisors
Editors
Other Contributors
Affiliation
EPub Date
Publication Date
2011-11-23
Submitted Date
Collections
Files
Loading...
main article
Adobe PDF, 124.89 KB
Other Titles
Abstract
The study explores the implications of a survey into the discrepancy between actual and reported incidents of violence, perpetrated by service users, within the learning disability division of one mental health NHS Trust. Violence within the NHS continues to constitute a significant issue, especially within mental health and learning
disability services where incidence remains disproportionately high despite the context of zero tolerance. A whole-population survey of 411 nurses working within a variety of settings within the learning disability division of one mental health NHS Trust.
A questionnaire was administered to learning disability nursing staff working in community, respite, residential,
assessment and treatment and medium secure settings, yielding a response rate of approximately 40%. There were distinct differences in the levels of violence reported within specific specialist services along with variation between these areas according to clinical environment, years of experience and nursing band. The study does not support previous findings whereby unqualified nurses experienced more incidents of violence than qualified nurses. The situation was less clear, complicated by the interrelationship between years of nursing experience, nursing band and clinical
environment. The conclusions suggest that the increased emphasis on reducing violent incidents has been fairly successful with
staff reporting adequate preparation for responding to specific incidents and being well supported by colleagues, managers and
the organisation. The differences between specific clinical environments, however, constituted a worrying finding with implications for skill mix and staff education. The study raises questions about the relationship between the qualified nurse and the individual with a learning disability in the context of violence and according to specific circumstances of care delivery. The relationship is clearly not a simple one, and this group of nurses’ understanding and expectations of tolerance requires further research; violence is clearly never acceptable, but these nurses appear reluctant to condemn and attribute culpability.
Citation
Journal of Clinical Nursing, 2011, 20(23-24), pp. 3304-3312
Publisher
Wiley-Blackwell
Journal
Journal of Clinical Nursing
Research Unit
DOI
10.1111/j.1365-2702.2011.03875.x
PubMed ID
PubMed Central ID
Type
Article
Language
en
Description
This is the authors' version of an article published in the Journal of Clinical Nursing. The definitive version is available at www3.interscience.wiley.com
Series/Report no.
ISSN
0962-1067