Reducing violence against NHS staff: Findings from an evaluation of the Safer Surrey Hospital Initiative

This paper presents key findings from an evaluation of a crime reduction initiative designed to reduce violence against NHS Trust staff. The evaluation addressed two main questions: whether the initiative's main intervention—a training package for conflict management—achieved its objectives; and what advice could be given to enhance similar initiatives in future. The evaluation found the training package helped to promote confidence among staff and reinforced existing conflict resolution skills. However, more complex advice tended to be forgotten after nine months. The results suggest that the design of training packages should take into account the limits of recall relative to the complexity of the advice given. The study also identified the difficulties associated with partnerships working between different organisations. For such partnerships to fulfil their potential it is suggested that service-level agreements need to be drawn up prior to the initiative, and that partnerships need the long-term support of senior management.