Body-worn cameras are being rolled-out at several north London hospitals after an NHS trust reported an increase in “violent aggression” against staff.

The safety measure will be introduced this month at Barnet Hospital and Royal Free Hospital’s accident and emergency departments, which Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust says are experiencing the highest number of violence and aggression across its sites.

The move follows a “successful” pilot of the equipment, with Royal Free London hoping the body cameras will deter attacks and aggression against staff.

Royal Free London also runs Chase Farm Hospital in Enfield and will soon run North Middlesex Hospital in Edmonton, with a proposed merger set to complete by the end of the year.

In 2022/23, the NHS trust reported 1,209 incidents of violence and aggression or verbal abuse against its staff across all of its sites. The figure rose by 179 to 1,388 in 2023/24.

By site, Royal Free Hospital had 695 events in 2023/24; Barnet Hospital was second with 579 incidents, a steep rise from 365 in 2022/23; and Chase Farm third with 51 incidents.

A trial of body-worn cameras began in June at the emergency departments of Barnet and Royal Free hospitals, as well as at the Mary Rankin Dialysius Unit, which Royal Free runs at St Pancras Hospital and had the fifth-highest amount of incidents.

Following the trial’s success, body-worn cameras will be rolled-out to all staff  at these three sites, starting later this month.

Speaking at a Royal Free London board meeting last week (October 2) Mark Lam, the trust’s chair, said: “We’ve just seen violence and aggression against our staff increase sadly over the years.”

Non-physical assaults are the most common type of reported incidents, with physical assaults, clinically and non-clinically related, being the second and third most common.

Discussing the changes and improvements being made amid the spike in abuse, Paddy Hennessy, the trust’s technical operations director, said: “We’re working on our wellness and aggression policy, and our security policy. 

“We’re working with operational and clinical colleagues in terms of the management of our behavioural warning letters [a first warning for patients].

“We’re rolling out the body-worn cameras, fully and substantively, in the emergency departments at Royal Free and Barnet hospitals and at the Mary Rankin unit. They’ll be rolled out this month, we’re really pleased that’s happening.

“We’re carrying out an independent audit of all security services across the group, we’ve also set up a peer learning group with organisations within the North Central London Integrated Care Board, and we’re setting up some security groups internally to support staff, along with face-to-face sessions.”