Health
1.(a) What is the total number of people who have been attacked in the precincts of health facilities in the province and (b) how many of these attacks resulted in serious injuries and fatalities in (i) 2014, (ii) 2015, (iii) 2016, (iv) 2017, (v) 2018 and (vi) 2019 to date;
- whether she and her Department have taken any measures to improve the safety in and around health facilities; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?
1(a) The Department has been recording security incidents comprehensively since 2017.
Physical attacks can be categorized as follows:
- Patient on patient,
- Patient on staff/security guard
- And visitor/escort on staff/security guards.
Verbal abuse is defined as any act in which a person is verbally abused or assaulted which includes swearing, insults and condescending language.
(b) The incidents listed below have all resulted in physical and/or psychological trauma.
2017 | 2018 | 2019 | |
Physical Assault | 122 | 194 | 155 |
Verbal Abuse | 98 | 72 | 20 |
The Department has arranged counselling and debriefing for staff affected by attacks.
2. The Department has implemented a number of measures to improve safety. These include:
- Conducting security risk assessments in collaboration with the Department of Community Safety
- Increasing the number of security guards at facilities
- Installation of security technology, including CCTV, alarm systems and access control
- Refresher training of security guards
- Staff security awareness
Collaboration with community structures such as SAPS, City of Cape Town and Neighbourhood Watches.
