Deal signed to help protect NHS staff

A new agreement to help protect nurses, doctors, ambulance crews and other NHS staff from assault and abuse in the North West has been signed on Monday (1 September 2014).

The Service Level Agreement (SLA) between the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) North West and NHS Protect commits both bodies to working closely together to ensure that people who attack NHS staff are prosecuted, where appropriate. It helps implement the national joint working agreement between the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), the CPS and NHS Protect.

The North West SLA aims to strengthen the prosecution process, recognising that there is a strong public interest in prosecuting those who assault NHS staff or commit other offences that disrupt the provision of NHS services to the public.

John Mytton, North West Area Security Management Specialist for NHS Protect, said “Both CPS North West and NHS Protect have worked hard to reach this point. We will continue to support health bodies to ensure that all incidents of violence and aggression against staff are addressed and appropriate sanctions are brought where necessary. This will help and improve the confidence and wellbeing of those who work in the national health service”.

Ian Rushton, Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor for CPS North West said: “Violence and abuse against NHS staff while they are working to protect and help the public is unacceptable, and we are committed to working with the NHS and police to bring offenders before the courts wherever possible. This agreement, which will operate across the North West, will help the NHS and the Crown Prosecution Service to work more closely together at a local level when incidents of violence and abuse occur. Together we aim to bring the strongest possible action against those who threaten and assault NHS staff in the course of their work.”