Managing Conflict in Dental Environments

Work related aggression and violence is a major issue in most sectors, the highest assault levels are experienced in the Health Care Sector. The estimated number of incidents of violence experienced by people at work in England & Wales was 655,000 in 2004/2005 (Source: British Crime Survey (BCS) 27 October 2005). The dental team deal directly with service users, customers and patients in their everyday working lives and are therefore likely to face the risk of verbal and physical ill treatment. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) are committed to raising awareness of work related violence and support a number of initiatives to reduce the level of incidents relating to conflict. The HSE define work place violence as "Any incident in which a person is abused, threatened or assaulted in circumstances relating to their work".

How can the problem be managed?

A risk-based approach is necessary in order to identify the extent of the problem and determine how to avoid and defuse situations and have a mechanism in place to support those who are victims of conflict. Employers have a duty of care to protect their staff from the risk of 'Violence', if the following steps are taken it will greatly assist with risk reduction and make the workplace a safer place.

Step 1 - Identify situations when staff may be faced with conflict

Step 2 - Determine measures to avoid or defuse conflict

Step 3 - Provide post-incident support

Conflict management skills are essential for all staff interacting with service users, customers and patients. By raising awareness of the importance of managing conflict into your organisation, you can significantly reduce incidents of verbal or physical abuse and of absenteeism caused by these stressful situations, and improve the quality of care.