New Kindness campaign launched to tackle violence against Croydon’s NHS staff
Croydon Health Services NHS Trust has launched a powerful new campaign aimed at reducing violence, abuse, and harassment against staff in their hospitals and community sites across the borough.
The Kindness Matters initiative highlights the vital role that kindness plays in ensuring a safe and caring environment for both patients and staff.
Led by our Equality Diversity and Inclusion Team and the nurse and AHP-led council, the campaign is championed through striking visuals across the hospital, sharing emotive, personal stories from NHS staff who have been victims of verbal and physical abuse from those they are trying to help.
NHS staff have consistently been at a higher risk of verbal and physical abuse at work than other occupational groups in recent years, particularly following the COVID-19 pandemic.
The most recent NHS Staff Survey revealed that over 30% of the Trust’s 4,800 staff had personally experienced harassment, bullying or abuse at work from patients, service users, their relatives or other members of the public in last year.
Shocking figures also indicated that almost 20% of staff had experienced physical violence, with security teams attending over 3,500 incidents at Croydon University Hospital during the same period. This equates to at least ten incidents every day, many of these including hostility towards those caring for patients.
The NHS Staff Survey also highlighted areas where we need to address how we are improving our relationships between staff and go further to ensure that as colleagues, we are behaving with kindness to each other and tackling any reported cases of bullying and harassment.
Matthew Kershaw, Chief Executive at Croydon Health Services and the borough’s Place Based Leader for Health, said:
“Our staff dedicate their lives to caring for others, often under immense pressure. This campaign is a call for patients, their loved ones and the wider public to remember that kindness matters when using our services. We are simply asking people to treat our teams with the respect they deserve - no one should come to work in fear of violence or harassment.“We’re committed to ensuring our staff feel safe, valued, and respected, and encourage them to report any incidents as soon as possible to allow us to take appropriate action, including the consideration of withdrawing care from those displaying inappropriate behaviour. These actions often impact our staff emotionally, so we also offer a range of wellbeing support to those who have been subject to any violence or abuse.”
The Kindness Matters campaign seeks to raise awareness and encourage respectful behaviour, using story tellers experience to share their experiences and striking images to highlight the difference positive behaviour can make.
Sophia, who has worked at the Trust for 17 years and is a patient locator at Croydon University Hospital, was subject to a series of abusive incidents from member of the public last year:
“Even now, the bad memories do linger. I remember during that time, just thinking about coming to work would bring on a sense of dread. I remind myself it was just one person, and that there are so many others who need and appreciate our care.“It’s not always easy to move past those moments, but campaigns like Kindness Matters help remind us and others why respect and compassion in our workplaces is so important.”
Dr Arani, a consultant neurologist, also shared her recent experience with a patient in one of her clinics:
"I always strive to provide compassionate, respectful care, even in difficult consultations. Patients fill me with awe - the vast majority are kind, even when dealing with immense personal stress, and I truly value the trust they place in us.“However, respect must go both ways — a safe and supportive environment is essential for effective care. I remain committed to learning from every experience and doing my best for every patient."
More information can be found at www.croydonhealthservices.nhs.uk/kindness-matters