Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many hospitals have special arrangements with local police forces to allow (a) permanent and (b) semi-permanent stationing of police officers on their grounds to deter criminal activity; [170607]
(2) how many criminal convictions following assaults on ambulance drivers there were in the last 12 months for which figures are available; [170608]
(3) how many attacks there were on ambulance drivers in the last 12 months for which figures are available; [170609]
(4) how many criminal convictions there were following assaults on hospital staff in the last 12 months for which figures are available; [170610]
(5) how many attacks there were on hospital staff in the last 12 months for which figures are available. [170611]
Ann Keen: In 2003 the national health service security management service (NHS SMS) was created and assumed responsibility for tackling violence against national health service staff.
The NHS SMS has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Association of Chief Police Officers. This encourages NHS trusts to agree a protocol with their local police to address how they can work together to deter criminal activity. Special arrangements between NHS trusts and the police are a matter for local agreement and information is not collated centrally on these agreements.
Since 2004-05, the NHS SMS has collected statistics on the number of physical assaults against NHS staff and the number of criminal sanctions against individuals who have assaulted NHS staff. Information on assaults and sanctions in relation to ambulance and hospital staff in the year 2006-07 is provided in the following table.
NHS sector | Number of reported assaults | Number of criminal sanctions ( 1) | |
Acute and Foundation trusts
|
9,685
|
419
| |
Ambulance workers
|
1,006
|
142
| (1) Figures include all criminal sanctions:
Cautions and conditional cautions
Conditional discharges
Community rehabilitation or punishment orders
Imprisonment (including suspended sentences)
Fines
|
| 
