Violence Prevention in Emergency Care

People who are injured because of violence usually go straight to hospital A&E for treatment.

There are over 170,00 such attendances each year across England and Wales. Of those who attend A&E with assault related injuries, nearly 60% will visit A&E more than once in a two-year period. Some will visit A&E more than ten times each year. These repeat visits to A&E highlight the cost of violence to the NHS.

Exposure to violence

In many instances, people's exposure to violence stems from a number of underlying issues. These can include ongoing domestic abuse, chronic problems with alcohol or drug-related issues, children living in unstable home environments, as well as circumstances like homelessness and mental health difficulties. To truly break the cycle of violence, we must tackle these underlying causes, and A&E staff are in a strong position to do so.

Our projects

Several projects have been set up to refer patients attending with assault-related injury to services that are able to support them. Those who are victims of domestic violence, for example, will be referred to Domestic Violence Advocates who can signpost services able to support them. There is a legal requirement for children to have their circumstances investigated and they can be referred to several services. However, the group most likely to end up in A&E because of violence, young men, there is little.

Evaluating services

One service, the Violence Prevent Teams in Cardiff and Swansea, funded by and working closely with the local police force and run by nurses, is an exception. They approach all those attending because of violence, irrespective of age or gender, and work with them to find ways to find support. This collaboration between the police and clinical staff is unique across the UK and we wish to understand how it operates and if it reduces subsequent healthcare use.

Principal Investigator