| Summary: | A report on a research study presented to the Department of Social Work
School of Human and Community Development Faculty of Humanities
University of the Witwatersrand In partial fulfilment of the requirements
for the degree Master of Arts in Social Work === This qualitative, exploratory study sought to determine whether non-clinical staff, generally
referred to as “support staff”, perceived their working environment – a psychiatric inpatient
facility in Gauteng – as threatening and, if so, whether this perception could be attributed to
constant exposure to male state patients (“MSPs”). The MSPs have a history of violence,
with charges of assault with an intent to do grievous bodily harm, rape and murder being the
most prevalent. Support staff members (ward clerks, administrative staff, cleaners and
groundsmen), encountered MSPs during the execution of their daily duties, but appeared to
receive little or no training which could foster the skills needed to interact safely with
potentially dangerous MSPs. Data was obtained through in-depth interviews and semistructured
interview guides were used. Twelve participants were recruited through
purposive sampling and three key informants provided additional data to support
triangulation. During thematic analysis, it emerged that patient unpredictability, having
experienced direct threats, having experienced vicarious trauma, an apparent lack of security
measures and lack of support from clinical staff and management contributed to the
participants’ perception of the threat of violence. Findings suggest that frequent exposure
to MSPs elicited fear in some of the support staff. Participants expressed the desire for
improved security measures, comprehensive training and general education about mental
illness in order to empower themselves to better understand mental illness. Moreover,
occupational social workers (“OSWs”) have a vital role to play in bridging the gap between
management and staff, and empowering vulnerable employees. An OSW framework to
ensure Employee Wellness and Safety in Safety-Sensitive Environments was designed from the output of this study which might be useful in other safety-sensitive settings. === NG (2020)
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