Punched, bitten, spat on and abused — staff at Queensland hospitals have to deal with violence every day. In a bid to stem the rising number of attacks, Townsville Hospital has introduced body-worn cameras for staff. It is one of the first health services in Queensland to do so, after trialling the technology in 2017. Hospital board chairman Tony Mooney said he hoped it would help deter attacks on doctors and nurses. “We are drawing the line in the sand in terms of that horrific violent behaviour … it’s a deterrent,” he said. There were 687 violent incidents at the hospital in 2017, up from 562 cases in 2016.
