Nursing staff to wear cameras in boost to safety

The Royal Free London (RFL) has today introduced body worn cameras for senior nurses in certain areas of the trust to help staff remain safe during incidents of violence and aggression.

The body worn cameras will be worn at the emergency departments at the Royal Free Hospital and Barnet Hospital, and the Mary Rankin unit at St Pancras Hospital.

These devices are very small in size and will be worn attached to the front pocket of our senior nurses. They can be activated with one touch when necessary to record video and audio, and otherwise remain inactive.

The cameras are introduced as instances of violence and aggression aimed at staff remain high. There were a total of 2,834 security incidents across the trust in 2024, with approximately 91% of them falling under a violence and aggression category. The departments where the cameras will be used have been highlighted as hot spots for such activity.

Paul Phillips, head of security at the RFL, said:

“Increases in violence and aggression related incidents can be due to many factors, some of which we have influence over. We are trying as much as we can to reduce and prevent violence and aggression through policies and guidelines to ensure safer working environments.

“Body worn cameras are another step forward in the support of our staff as studies have shown their effectiveness specifically in the reduction of violent and aggressive behaviour.”

Bev Thomas, director of nursing at Barnet Hospital and chair of the violence prevention and reduction committee, said:

“In the 2023 NHS staff survey, 31% of RFL colleagues said they experienced bullying, harassment and abuse from patients, service users and members of the public in the previous twelve months.

“Nobody should have to face violence and aggression as part of their job, and we hope that these cameras will have the desired effect of de-escalating situations, reducing disruption and recording an independent account of what happened.”