Tasmanian hospitals are introducing a new ‘Code Grey’ to help control anti-social behaviour and create safer environments for patients and staff.
The code will be activated in situations with potential for violence or aggression and will be distinct from a ‘Code Black’, which indicates an ongoing violent incident.
According to Deputy Secretary of Tasmanian Hospitals and Primary Care Brendan Docherty, the implementation of ‘Code Grey’ in other states has demonstrated success in reducing violent incidents.
“It really does cut down the amount of code blacks and that means that those people who attend code blacks can go on and do their other roles and responsibilities,” he told Local Radio.
“But also it tends to lead to better outcomes for our patients and our staff, having the ‘Code Grey’, because that de-escalation and just taking out the tension just absolutely gets people more collaborative and more respectful.”
The new alert level will be piloted for three months in select areas and departments of each of the state’s main hospitals before being rolled out across the entire Tasmanian Health Service.
“That means we can train the people on those wards or those emergency departments first and foremost on the deescalation skills required for ‘Code Grey’,” Docherty said.
“And we’ll have evaluation feedback from staff, feedback from consumers and patients.”
The code will be triggered when a staff member observes or receives a report of behaviour that could lead to violence or aggression.
Once activated, an announcement will be sent to hospital staff through either a paging or audible announcement system.
