Vertical Markets

NHS Protect welcomes dog law

by Mark Rowe

Featured in the March print issue of Professional Security are the proposed changes in the law that will give greater legal protection to postmen and others facing dangerous dogs on private property. NHS Protect welcomes the proposals.

The proposal, to extend current legislation on dog attacks in public places to cover private properties, is according to NHS Protect essential to protect NHS workers. Current laws do not offer sufficient legal protection to medical professionals and other legitimate visitors to private residences, if injured on the premises by a dog.

The changes mean that dog owners will be held to account for the behaviour of their pets. They add to tougher sentencing guidance issued in 2012 against people taken to court over dog attacks. The new law also requires all dogs to be micro-chipped from 6 April 2016, which makes finding the owners of dangerous dogs easier.

NHS Protect sought the extension of the law which is now being put forward, in order to give health workers the protection they deserve. NHS Protect’s Legal Protection Unit responded to three consultation exercises (in 2010 and 2012 through Defra, and in 2011 through the Sentencing Council). Some 59,744 assaults against NHS staff were reported in England in 2011/12. It is not recorded how many of these relate to dog attacks, but medical and care staff are exposed to greater risk on private land than on public property. Attacks can, and have, resulted in community care services being withdrawn or reduced, and can affect the provision of emergency services.

Richard Hampton, Head of Local Support and Development Services at NHS Protect, said: “We welcome this proposed change. NHS staff provide essential medical services directly to patients in their homes, either as ongoing care, or responding to an emergency. These workers play an invaluable role in the community and it is fundamental that they feel safe and secure in their work, to enable them to perform their duties to the best of their ability, without hindrance or fear of attack.”

Under the Dogs Act 1871, if a complaint about a dangerous dog is made to police, and it does not lead to an investigation, the person’s only option is to begin private proceedings, which for many people is not possible due to cost. The change in law also addresses this.

Background

Since 2009, under the NHS Lone Worker Framework Agreement, 40,000 personal safety devices have been supplied to lone workers. The service provides lone workers with the ability to call on support from the emergency services should they be faced with potentially violent situations. NHS Protect (incorporates some functions of the former NHS Security Management Service) has a national syllabus for conflict resolution training aimed at all frontline NHS staff. It gives staff the skills to recognise and defuse potentially violent situations.

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