Heartbeat July 2019

Course skills up security to support
people with mental health issues
CORPORATE AND GENERAL
NEWS
Lance Bryan, Security Officer at City
Hospital is well aware of the high
number of incidences that he and
his colleagues are called to which
involve a person with a mental
health issue.
He thought that the team would benefit
from some in depth training in order to
help them deal with what can be a very
challenging aspect of the role.
Taking the opportunity to try to better
equip himself and his colleagues, he
managed to secure funding for the
team to undertake an intensive Level 3
Principles in Mental Health course.
“The courses that we had been on
previously only scratched the surface,
such as one day seminars. I wanted
something that meant we could dig a
little deeper,” Lance said.
The course covered a range of topics
including coping mechanisms, root
L - R: Lance Bryan, Security Officer with
Santokh Sagoo, Security Manager
causes and how to deal with people who may
be suffering with mental illness.
Lance added: “The nature of our job means
that we can be called into A&E where a
patient may be in the middle of a mental
health crisis. And the course has helped a lot
in dealing with that.”
The team is already very skilled in approaching
challenging situations but the course
has allowed them to build on existing
experience.
Santokh Sagoo, Security Manager, also
attended the course, he said: “When you
get a deeper knowledge of a subject, when
you understand what a person is going
through and the reasons behind it, you gain
empathy for people. That leads to treating
people with more humanity.”
Getting physical with a service user is a
last resort and it is traumatic for everyone
involved, including for members of the
security team. Training is a way of equipping
the team to de-escalate a situation before it
gets to that point.
“Any course that you do is holistic, it’s not
just that you learn but it gives other skills.
We gained academic skills, because it was
at the level of an A- Level, this upskills us in
all aspects of our work. I think it’s important
to highlight the benefits of ongoing training
for staff groups at our level as it increases
aspirations and drives engagement and
ownership because staff feel more valued as
people,” Santokh commented.
Surveillance Camera Day dispels
myths of CCTV
Colleagues had the opportunity to
see behind closed doors, as well
as get a taste of life in the control
room when they were given the
opportunity to join the security team
for the day to celebrate Surveillance
Camera Day.
Surveillance Camera Day is a national
awareness event which aims to
encourage a conversation about the
use of surveillance cameras in modern
society. The awareness day forms part
of the civil engagement strand of the
National Surveillance Camera Strategy
and is a world first.
Colleagues from across the Trust
took the open invite and flocked in
throughout the day hoping to learn
more about the security team and to
see what happens in the control room
amongst the array of CCTV screens.
Mark Stankovich, Directorate General
Manager – Portering and Security
said: “The majority of people have an
Our security team at the City Hospital control
room
apprehensive view towards CCTV so the aim
of Surveillance Camera Day was to show
everyone what really goes on as well as dispel
some of the myths that surround CCTV and
its uses.”
CCTV on our City site covers over 135
areas and helps us to keep everyone on our
premises safe. The system allows us to react
almost instantly should anything out of the
ordinary occur which means we’re better
able to look after patients, visitors and
colleagues.
Mark Lee, Security Officer played a vital
role in the initiative and hopes that inviting
colleagues into the security control room
will help reduce the stigma attached to
surveillance technology.
He said: “With the average person captured
on CCTV at least 70 times a day, it’s great
to be able to show colleagues what we
in security use our CCTV system for and
crucially the benefits of it to them as well as
others.
“It was great to hear conversation about
CCTV and more specifically the increased
use of facial recognition advancements
amongst colleagues at our awareness event
but most importantly, it’s nice to know that
everybody who came along went away
feeling more positive about the security
team and surveillance across our hospital
sites.”
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