Issued: 28th November 2008

Culture of Violence Prompts Advances in Personal Protective Equipment

As violent physical attacks on unprotected public sector workers are on the increase, advances made in the field of PPE offer an unrivalled safety solution.

Violent attacks on Britain’s streets are frequently in the news; however unpublicised attacks on those attempting to help and protect citizens are becoming more common place. The Counter Fraud and Security Management Service Division of the NHS (CFSMS) states that the number of physical attacks on NHS staff alone in England has increased from last years figure again, now standing at a staggering 55,993 in 2007/8 – bear in mind that the figure stated here reflects the total number of reported attacks. As well as this the latest NHS SMS Physical Assault Statistics 2007/8 released from CFSMS which detail the number of assaults within each individual health body in the country shockingly outline the number of reported assaults running in to the thousands. North Eastern NHS Trusts being the worst with Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Trust topping the table with 2,536 assaults and Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Trust a close second with a total of 2,130 assaults, NHS SMS Physical
Assault Statistics 2007/8.

In light of the rising statistics union heads are calling for more to be done. A Unison representative stated: "The catalogue of assaults is shameful. I fear the all-night drinking culture and a lack of respect is fuelling violence against paramedics, nurses and health staff who need to be given the protection they deserve."

Those facing such attacks are not just based within the NHS. Workers from a number of public sector divisions; housing, trading standards, licensing, environmental health and so on are subject to violent attacks on a daily basis. Recent Health & Safety Executive (HSE) case studies inform us of several incidents involving local authority
workers made subject to threats of violence and physical aggression including use of knives, hammers, bricks and more imaginative weapons such as large screen televisions. It seems nonsensical that public sector workers and divisions of our emergency services who are often placed in dangerous situations and have to deal with aggressive and/or intoxicated persons are not routinely issued with similar protective equipment as our police forces, which are supplied with body armour as standard.

More than 20 years of experience in the field of high risk security and front line use of body armour means that the directors of Yorkshire based company ASEO entirely understand the risks involved when working within the public domain and the significant difference that personal protective equipment (PPE) can make to a person’s
safety. Having recently created an innovative range of ultra thin, lightweight body armour, certified by the Home Office Scientific Development Branch (HOSDB) ASEO are working to raise awareness of the risks faced by workers within the public sector and the measures which can be taken in order for such individuals to protect themselves. The body armour ASEO have developed stand alone in the world of PPE as the only certified stab proof vests capable of protecting the body from impact based assaults such as kicks, punches and blows from blunt instruments as well as knife and needle attack.

Robert Kaiser, Managing Director of ASEO points out: “Statistics clearly show that along with conflict resolution training the need for protective equipment within the NHS and the public sector is vast. Our professional experience, extensive research and statistical analysis inspired us to create a lightweight model of body armour which incorporates Home Office certified protection from knives and hypodermic needles, as well as extraordinary protection from the most common impact based assaults, such as punches, kicks and blows of any kind. When personal protective equipment is issued we can be sure that the men and women within these roles are equipped to manage the vast majority of confrontational situations they may face.”

ASEO is a Limited company incorporated in June 2006. Together with sister company personalsafety4u ASEO strives to provide the best stab and ballistic protective equipment and personal safety training methods to NHS and other public sector workers.

If you would like more information on this topic or to contact Mr. Robert Kaiser
please call 01765 692550, fax 01765 606274 or email
Lydia Hardy at lh@aseo-europe.com