Use of, and outputs from, an assault patient questionnaire within accident and emergency departments on Merseyside.
OBJECTIVE
To describe the implementation, use of, and outputs from an assault patient questionnaire (APQ) introduced in accident and emergency (A&E) departments to determine Crime & Disorder and Community Safety priorities on Merseyside, a metropolitan county in north west England, UK.


METHODS
Why and how the APQ was implemented, data collected, and information obtained. The subsequent incorporation of the APQ into the Torex Patient Administration System (PAS) at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital A&E department and its routine completion by trained reception staff.


RESULTS
Analysis is based upon anonymised data-for example, patient ID and date of birth information is suppressed. A summary of "baseline" information obtained from the data collected is provided.


CONCLUSIONS
It is possible for the APQ to be implemented at no extra cost in a large A&E department in an acute general teaching hospital. Valuable intelligence can be obtained for Crime & Disorder Act and Community Safety processes. The APQ forms part of a medium to long term strategy to prevent and reduce violent assaults in the community that subsequently require treatment in an A&E department. Such incidents include assaults both inside and outside licensed premises, attacks by strangers on the street, and domestic violence. Emphasis is also placed upon the feedback of results to staff in A&E departments.
Young
C A
CA
Environmental Criminology Research Unit (ECRU), Department of Civic Design, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK. youngca@liverpool.ac.uk
Douglass
J P
JP
D019548:Crime Victims / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D017579:Domestic Violence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004739:England / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010507:Periodicity; D012621:Seasons; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014754:Violence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*