Standard
To advise the Trust and work with Trust Staff to ensure a safe and secure environment that adheres to all statutory guidelines.
Our Security Policy
The provision of effective security arrangements at Ashford & St Peter’s Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (the Trust) is essential if a safe environment is to be provided for patients and staff and if premises and goods are to be properly safeguarded.
This objective needs to be achieved whilst recognising the need for healthcare premises to be easily accessible to patients and visitors.
This document sets out managerial and staff responsibilities for security, together with specific duties of certain officers. It defines the procedures for reporting and investigating security incidents and it should be read with the Trust’s policies and procedures.
The objective is to maintain a balance between:
- The open nature of the hospital and grounds, with freedom for staff, patients and visitors and the general functional efficiency for patient care and
- the protection of staff, patients and visitors and property from criminal activities
This balance on occasions will be difficult and will often rest with individual cases being dealt with on their own merits. However, as a guideline, general security needs must not outweigh functional efficiency or detract from patient care. Protection of staff and patients from verbal or physical assault will take a very high priority.
Staff Responsibilities
All staff have a responsibility for their own, their colleagues and patient’s safety and security, together with a duty for avoiding loss of property and Trust Assets. Employees are expected to cooperate with management to achieve the aims of this policy.
- All employees are responsible for their personal security whilst at work.
- Employees have a responsibility to maintain a secure environment for their fellow employees, patients and visitors and ensure, whenever possible, the protection of their property. All employees are to be encouraged not to bring large amounts of monies or valuable personal possessions onto the Trust’s sites.
- Employees are responsible for maintaining a secure environment for property and equipment belonging to the Trust.
- Employees must ensure that they are aware of the security policy and that they follow its requirements while at work.
- It is the duty of all staff to question anyone they do not recognise, if it is safe to do so. If anyone is acting suspiciously, behaving unusually or is in an area they should not be in, security should be alerted immediately by calling extension 4101 for Ashford or 2036 for St Peter’s. The senior person present must be told immediately. Thus preventing security breaches and enabling the quick arrest of those responsible for said breaches.
- It is required of every office based employee that they ensure windows and doors are shut and locked when they leave work or when they leave their place of work for a period of time.
- Every employee must ensure that when they leave their place of work expensive equipment and confidential papers (especially patients’ records) are locked away.
- Every employee must ensure that they log off or switch off their computer terminal whenever they leave their desk to avoid unauthorised access.
