Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)

I have already welcomed the recent report of the Health and Safety Authority. It adds further impetus to our drive to improve the delivery of accident and emergency services. The authority's report arises from its inspection of 11 accident and emergency departments and its analysis of risk assessments carried out in all hospitals. This is the first nationally co-ordinated analysis of all accident and emergency departments. It is, therefore, critical that action is taken following the recommendations of the Health and Safety Authority. I am pleased the Health and Safety Authority has acknowledged that the hospitals are fully engaged in the process of addressing health and safety in their accident and emergency units.

The Director of the National Hospitals Office has issued interim advice to chief officers-chief executives-hospital managers on the preliminary findings of the Health and Safety Authority audit and the National Hospitals Office's own assessment of the audit. In particular, the Health and Safety Authority recommended that the Health Service Executive should determine, on a hospital by hospital basis, after undertaking the necessary risk assessment and staff consultation, whether extra capacity can be achieved within existing units. The National Hospitals Office has advised hospital managers to examine the potential for using the total hospital capacity, including inpatient wards for patients who require admission. It is a matter for each individual hospital to exercise its own judgment on how to reduce risk within particular hospitals.

The National Hospitals Office has also written to each trade union-staff association requesting that the issue of accident and emergency departments, including the issue of health and safety, should be dealt with by way of a working partnership group between management and trade unions. I urge staff representatives to fully engage in this process.

Both the Health and Safety Authority and the Health Service Executive reports have found violence and aggression to be one of the main risks in accident and emergency departments. Much of this relates to the prevalence of cases of alcohol and drug misuse.

The National Hospitals Office has requested the immediate implementation of guidelines issued by the Health and Safety Authority on dealing with violence and aggression in the workplace. The National Hospitals Office is also examining current policies against workplace violence and will issue a clear policy statement of intent which will recognise the importance of efforts to eliminate workplace violence. I find it totally unacceptable that front-line health care workers might be subjected to threats or abuse. My colleague, the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy McDowell, is also determined that everything possible should be done to tackle disorderly behaviour and, in particular, assaults on emergency workers, such as the staff of hospital accident and emergency units. I am fully supportive of the Minister's efforts in this regard.

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