Code Grey
10 Jul 2017
10 July 2017
From the recommendation of the Department of Health, (Victorian Government) a standardised response to violence and aggression incidents (Code Grey) is being implemented in hospitals throughout Victoria.
What is a Code Grey?
Code Grey is an emergency response to situations/incidents of verbal and/or physical aggression, threatening behaviour, abuse and violence involving patients, visitors, relatives, VMO’s or caregivers.
The safety and wellbeing of St John of God Ballarat caregivers is paramount therefore to ensure our caregivers feel safe at work we have implemented a Code Grey procedure in which we went “LIVE” on 1 June 2017.
When is a Code Grey activated?
The first response to an act of violence or aggression is to attempt to de-escalate the situation utilising effective communication skills, however a Code Grey can be activated when de-escalation has failed to resolve the incident.
How was the Code Grey implemented at the hospital?
Specific Code Grey buttons were installed throughout the hospital to provide caregivers with further emergency mechanisms to assist with de-escalation and management of any situation that cannot be resolved locally.
New procedures were developed and existing policies were reviewed to ensure we provided adequate and appropriate guidelines to our caregivers.
A collaborative approach from various stakeholders contributed to the implementation in many ways with the ongoing support and commitment from our Chief Executive Officer and Divisional Management Committee.
Signage was also developed and displayed throughout the hospital to inform everyone that violence and aggression of any sort will not be tolerated in our workplace.
Multiple information/education sessions were delivered to all various work groups and areas to ensure caregivers received adequate information of the Code Grey implementation. Feedback from caregivers throughout the roll out was valuable in identifying gaps and inadequacies in our systems.
A review of our hospital wide security processes and requirements was undertaken resulting in positive outcomes and improved systems and processes for both caregivers and our external security providers.
Overall the implementation of Code Grey has been positive with increasing awareness amongst our caregivers and improved safety culture generally throughout the hospital. It’s given our caregivers the additional support and knowledge they needed to ensure they remain safe at work whilst caring for their patients.