Sense of safety among medical staff working in a psychiatric ward

Abstract

Introduction and objective. Acts of aggression and physical violence directed against medical staff decrease the sense of work safety, resulting in the depersonalisation and gradual departure of medical staff from the profession. The aim of the study was to investigate the sense of safety among medical staff employed in the psychiatric ward of a Polish provincial hospital. Materials and method. The pilot study included 88 persons who represented various medical professions employed in a psychiatric ward of the Independent Public Provincial Specialist Hospital in Chełm, The discussed phenomenon was evaluated by a survey method, by means of an author-constructed questionnaire as a research instrument. Statistical analysis was conducted using statistical software SPSS. Results. The majority of medical personnel working in the psychiatric ward in the Independent Public Province Specialist Hospital in Chełm reported that the work in the ward is associated with a low sense of safety. Only the respondents who had the lowest period of employment (less than 5 years) evaluated work in the psychiatric ward as safe. Those with the longest period of employment in the psychiatric ward felt less secure; simultaneously, the respondents’ admitted that being on duty together with persons who had the longest period of employment was the safest. No statistically significant differences in the lack of the sense of safety at work in a psychiatric ward were observed according to gender. Conclusions. Statistically significant differences were noted between respondents’ opinions concerning their alleviating effect on releasing aggressive behaviours. Such an opinion was expressed mainly by paramedics.