Be kind and respectful to our nurses and midwives
This page has information that is part of the Be Kind to Our Nurses and Midwives campaign.
This campaign aligns with the ACT Government Managing Occupational Violence Policy [PDF 260KB].
Canberrans have told us how important and valuable our nurses and midwives are to them and our community.
Yet, our nurses and midwives still experience a high rate of occupational violence from patients and visitors to our health services.
The people who are aggressive aren’t just people under the influence of drugs and alcohol or those with cognitive impairment. They are everyday people who should know how, and be able, to act respectfully.
Our nurses and midwives know better than most people how stressful it can be when your health is at risk. They see us at our worst and most vulnerable, and they always give us the best care they can.
Being aggressive towards nurses and midwives doesn’t help your care. It makes it harder for our nurses and midwives to focus on caring for you.
Violent and aggressive behaviours are both physical and non-physical
Most of us know that physically hurting someone is unacceptable. However, non-physical aggression is unacceptable and can impact staff mental health and well-being.
Physical behaviours include:
- hitting, kicking or pushing
- choking
- biting, spitting or scratching
- throwing things.
Non-physical behaviours include:
- aggressive body language or gestures such as eye-rolling
- shouting or yelling
- standing in the way of a staff member doing their job or in their personal space
- banging fists on a desk
- name calling or swearing.
Violent and aggressive behaviour impacts more than just the staff
The effects are wide-reaching. Violence and aggression impact staff happiness, mental health, well-being, and their ability to focus on caring for you. The negative effects can also flow onto the whole nursing team.
It is hard to leave experiences of violence and aggression at work. Staff often carry their worries home, impacting their family, friends and community.
How we can work together
We aim to provide a safe and supportive environment for everyone who enters or accesses a public health service.
Through our Statement of Mutual Expectations [PDF 460KB], we're working to identify how consumers and healthcare staff can best work together to reduce incidents of occupational violence.
Our staff
Our staff, students and volunteers are here to:
- support you in making decisions about your healthcare, or where you are unable or have provided a health direction, to actively seek engagement with your identified nominated person, carer, guardian, representative or other individual or organisation
- to understand and respect your future healthcare values and preferences, ensuring your preferences are documented to help guide care
- assess your health and provide care as required, ensuring that those with urgent health care requirements are identified and treated as a priority
- take action when you provide feedback, or identify concerns, about your health and safety, or the health and safety of others
- ensure a safe environment for everyone, by reporting and managing any unacceptable behaviours towards staff or others according to their workplace policies and processes.
How you can support us
You can support us by:
- respecting other people and property to support a positive and safe environment
- being mindful of the way you communicate with others
- considering using the available options for providing feedback if you have any concerns so that we can ensure they are addressed
- working with us to plan and provide your care
- being mindful of your, and others, privacy especially when sharing information
- speaking to a staff member if you feel that your condition is getting worse, so that we can provide appropriate care
- letting us know if you have an immediate concern for your safety because:
- our staff, students or volunteers’ behaviours are not meeting expectations
- other consumers (patients, nominated person, carers or visitors) are demonstrating unacceptable behaviours.
Find out more about our commitment at Towards a Safer Culture.
If you are unhappy, tell us
Don’t resort to violence and aggression.
Be kind and respectful to our nurses and midwives. Everyone deserves to feel safe at work.
If you are unhappy, instead of being aggressive:
- calmly tell the person caring for you why you are unhappy
- ask to speak to the manager in charge
- contact the feedback and complaints team for the health service you are visiting.
How we respond
All complaints, concerns or comments will be investigated by the relevant ACT public health workplace.
Our staff are trained to identify and report occupational violence and have response processes to follow, with a focus on de-escalation and keeping people and the environment safe.
They may call on other staff or teams, such as security, to manage the response. If anyone causes physical or psychological harm to others, or wilfully damage property, we can contact ACT Policing and they may be charged with an offence under the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth) or the ACT Crimes Act 1900.