Tricks against violence

How hospitals react when patients go berserk

The trainers at the Ordensklinikum demonstrate how to ward off physical assaults, which are fortunately rare.

(Bild: Ordensklinikum Linz)

There have recently been around 300 assaults on staff at the Salzkammergut Clinic, half of them verbal, but there have also been physical attacks. A de-escalation trainer explains how hospitals deal with dicey situations.

Nobody likes being in hospital and an unpleasant examination or diagnosis is always an exceptional situation - this is certainly not an excuse, but it is probably one explanation as to why staff sometimes find themselves in dicey situations in hospitals. The Salzkammergut Clinic, for example, recorded 307 assaults on employees in the previous year, including 157 verbal attacks, 45 physical attacks and eleven sexual harassments (out of a total of around 550,000 patients).

Waiting times are the number one cause of conflict
OÖ Gesundheitsholding and the Ordensklinikum therefore offer de-escalation courses for employees at their locations. Christine Haas is one of six trainers at the Ordensklinikum. The main reason why patients get angry is waiting times. The qualified nurse gives an example: "A patient has known about an appointment in the outpatient clinic for three quarters of a year, comes to the hospital, thinks that he has to come straight away, but then realizes that there are ten others ahead of him."

Special techniques
In exceptional cases, physical assaults also occur in the emergency room. When taking blood, for example, it is possible to be grabbed by the arm. "With a special grip technique, you can twist out of the grip without hurting the other person," explains the trainer.

A patient has known about an appointment at the outpatient clinic for three quarters of a year, comes to the hospital, thinks he needs to be seen immediately, but then realizes that there are ten others ahead of him.

Deeskalationstrainerin Christine Haas über Situationen mit Eskalationspotenzial

And what about verbal derailments? "Work out exactly what the problem is," says Haas, outlining the strategy for calming things down. "A patient often grumbles about the waiting time, but the truth is that their concern is that an unattended relative is waiting at home."