A powerful advertising campaign against violence in our hospitals will be extended, following the successful rollout of the ads last year.
The 'Abuse shouldn't be part of the job' Respectful Behaviours Campaign highlights the unacceptable abuse levelled at our health workers and calls for respect for our doctors, nurses, ambos and other health workers.
The TV ad campaign is backed by six health unions and draws from real-life experiences of our public hospital staff, featuring real workers and actors, supported by press, radio, outdoor, digital, and hospital-based advertising.
Campaign visuals can be accessed here.
Data shows there was an eight per cent increase in Code Blacks at our hospitals from 12,118 incidents in 2023 to 13,090 incidents last year.
Across all SA Health sites including research facilities, dental and screening services and aged care homes, there was a 6.7 per cent increase in Code Blacks, from 13,880 incidents in 2023 to 14,816 incidents in 2024.
A Code Black is an incident or threat of aggression and can be called as a preventative measure to de-escalate a situation before an incident occurs, not just because a violent incident has occurred.
The 'Abuse shouldn't be part of the job' campaign ran from 4 August to 14 September 2024 across television, radio, video, digital, outdoor and regional print, with some digital and social advertising continuing on throughout until December 2024.
Posters were also placed in Emergency Department waiting areas, inpatient and outpatient areas, and stickers on Perspex screens at reception/triage desks.
An evaluation of the campaign found it was effective in reaching the South Australian public and ensuring staff felt supported.
The Government has decided to run the campaign again this year, with the ads to start running again in the next few weeks.
The campaign adds to the improved security measures that have already been put in place as the Malinauskas Labor Government works to implement the ANMF's 10-point plan to end violence and aggression in our hospitals.
This includes the employment of security guards across major regional hubs, as well as fit-for-purpose technology and design throughout the suite of new health infrastructure currently under construction and already delivered.
As put by Chris Picton
Violence and abuse in our hospitals and health sites is completely unacceptable and will not be tolerated.
Day in, day out, our doctors, nurses and other health care staff give their all to care for South Australians. It is awful that anyone would threaten or harm our hard-working health care workers. Perpetrators should face the full force of the law.
We're running this ad campaign again to support our hardworking health staff and highlight that such abuse, violence and threats against our staff has no place in our hospitals.
Our government has also significantly increased security at our hospitals. Since being elected, we have put 24/7 security guards in Mount Gambier, Port Lincoln, Port Pirie, Wallaroo, Murray Bridge, Berri and Mount Barker hospitals.
During the Liberals' time in office the calls for action on violence were ignored.
