The winter pressure on the NHS & the need for flexible training

Winter has historically been a trying time for the NHS, with considerable pressure on resources and staffing due to the onset of the cold and flu season. Our precious NHS is rarely free from burden, something that’s been exacerbated by the chaos that has ensued since the beginning of the pandemic.

Frontline services have been overwhelmed due to the rising number of Covid patients in the UK, with working hours extended and new personnel required to cope with the demand. At the start of the Omicron surge, hospitals in England were already 94% full. Four out of five critical care beds were occupied, even before the spread of the Omicron variant of coronavirus started to cause a significant influx of patients.

NHS statistics published last week showed hospitals are under intense pressure and sparked renewed fears that the health service could struggle to cope with the coming surge in Covid cases. Currently, at least 24 NHS trusts, out of England’s 137, have declared a critical incident, meaning they have reached an alert level, suggesting priority service may be under threat. 

In these difficult circumstances that show little sign of improving soon, all NHS staff involved must be supported in every way possible.

Coping with difficult situations

In this kind of pressure-cooker environment, it can be challenging to keep up with demand, and that’s before we start talking about the stress that patients feel. Long waits in hospital waiting rooms can cause tempers to fray, leading to potential confrontations with people simply wanting to get seen.

When people are in this heightened state of stress, the potential for violence increases significantly, with everyone working in the vicinity becoming at risk. Whether talking about security teams, site managers, portering staff, or theatre teams, challenging behaviour can quickly get out of hand, and therein lies the danger.

Knowing how to act in a way that diffuses confrontations like these is imperative for front line NHS staff, which is why the provision of conflict resolution training is crucial. That said, it needs to be available in a flexible way that fits around the busy working day of nurses, doctors and health professionals. 

Conflict resolution training on your terms

IKON Live is the exciting new live remote online platform that allows NHS staff to get the conflict resolution training they need when it suits them. Able to be streamed directly to a desktop, laptop or other internet-connected device, NHS trusts can provide valuable safety and development training as and when the need arises.

Trusts no longer need to remove much-needed staff for hours and schedule training venues and other training resources; it’s a live, trainer delivered remote learning platform tailored to align with NHS Trusts procedures and policies. It would be true to say that distance learning has never been so controllable!

Visit IKON Live training today to find out more.

So, if you’d like to know more about IKON Live and how it can provide your staff with the essential skills required to defuse potentially violent situations, please visit us online today at www.ikontraining.co.uk, where you’ll find details of our full range of flexible training.

Alternatively, if you would like to discuss your organisation’s training needs with our team, we’ll be more than happy to have a chat to see how we can help. To get in touch, call us on 01473 927 333 today.