New workers will help combat Cleveland’s epidemic of violence from the front line – by supporting victims in one of the region’s A&E departments.
Two A&E navigators will be based in Middlesbrough’s James Cook University Hospital from March.
They will work with children and young people, who attend the hospital’s emergency department with a violence-related injury.
Navigators develop trusting relationships with the injured children, provide informal mentoring and help them to access services.
After assessing the immediate risk to the injured young person, navigators offer support and design a package tailored to the victim – and their family’s – needs.
This can include help to access a range of services such as counselling, family support, mentoring, or with conflict resolution, employment, or substance misuse. If needed, support will continue after the patient is discharged from hospital.
It is being funded by the Cleveland Unit for the Reduction of Violence – or CURV – as part of their work to develop a long-term multi-agency approach to tackle serious violence.
A total of £150,000 will be given to the Alcohol Care Team (ACT) within South Tees Hospital Trust over two years to deliver the A&E navigator programme.
‘Major step forward’
Barney Green, Consultant Vascular Surgeon at James Cook University Hospital, said: “The launch of the Violence Reduction Navigator programme is a major step forward in reaching people who have been the victims, or perpetrators of violence, find a way out and into that better future.
“Through their interactions we know that, not only will we begin to see a reduction in the number of young people attending the hospital with injuries, but we will begin to help shape our communities into the safer, peaceful places we all want them to be.”
The scheme is based on the knowledge that being a victim of violence is strongly associated with being involved in violence in the future.
Admission to hospital is recognised by CURV as being one of the “reachable, teachable moments” and a critical point of contact with vulnerable, young people.
Police and Crime Commissioner Steve Turner added: “We already know navigators play a vital role in reducing the impact of violent crime not just for an individual and their families, but for us all in the wider society.
“They do a remarkable job, helping people break free from the cycle of violence by supporting vulnerable people and staff, and then acting as a bridge to life-changing services.
“It’s great that we have been able to bring the A&E navigators to Cleveland, alongside a whole host of other prevention and early intervention programmes we are supporting to tackle problems like knife crime and serious violence.”
There have been two studies measuring the impact of A&E Navigator interventions on preventing further violence.
Information from these studies suggests that these interventions could have a high impact.
The introduction of A&E navigators follows the successful introduction of custody navigators in Middlesbrough Police station six months ago.