Black Country hospital staff to trial body-worn cameras in bid to stop aggressive behaviour
Some hospital staff in the Black Country are to start wearing body-worn cameras in a bid to reduce the amount of anti-social behaviour.
Clinical staff in some services at Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust, which runs Sandwell General and City Hospital, will be wearing the cameras.
They are intended to prevent acts of violence and aggression towards staff and can be activated should a member of staff feel the need to record an incident that compromises the safety of other people.
Cameras are the size of a smartphone and are attached to the uniform at chest height and will record digital images in the same way as traditional CCTV, and also record sound.
The data is kept for 31 days, unless it is deemed necessary for a criminal prosecution when footage can be used as evidence in court.
Footage can also be used for learning to see if an incident could have been handled differently.
The cameras will only be switched on when there is likelihood that evidential footage will be captured and the staff member will alert the perpetrator prior to activating the camera.
Patients and members of the public have been asked to complete a survey to share their views about the use of body-worn cameras in healthcare settings which can be found online here.
