Training for healthcare professionals in spotting signs of domestic abuse
Dear colleague,
A comprehensive training course for healthcare professionals about the warning signs and how to make interventions. People working in health settings are most likely to come into contact with people suffering from all the various types of domestic abuse and their intervention can be crucial.
Our courses run over the autumn and are competitively priced at £60 per delegate. More detail below and attached. Please do share with colleagues who might be interested.
Training for healthcare professionals in spotting signs of domestic abuse
The challenge
The NHS spends more time dealing with the impact of violence against women and children than “almost any other agency.” (Department of Health)
The Government estimates that domestic abuse costs health care services 2.3 billion pounds annually (Oliver et al, 2019).
Every year, nearly half a million survivors of domestic abuse seek assistance from professionals in health settings.
Health care professionals are uniquely placed in their ability to identify domestic abuse and support survivors to access specialist services. A local survey found survivors are most likely to approach health services to disclose domestic abuse over any other agency (Safe Lives, 2021).
Domestic Homicide Reviews (DHRs) consistently show the critical role that health professionals can have in making interventions before a homicide takes place, providing a window of opportunity for survivors to disclose.
We can help you provide the right support at the right time.
Redbridge Council has developed a comprehensive training course to enable healthcare professionals to provide support to people suffering/experiencing domestic abuse.
Delivered by specialists from the borough’s Reach Out domestic abuse service, the 90-minute course is comprehensive and interactive including developments from recent legislative change.
Following the course, your staff will:
- Have greater understanding about the dynamics of power and control.
- Be able to recognise indicators of domestic abuse and identify abusive tactics.
- Explore the complexities of staying in / leaving a relationship with an abuser.
- Have increased knowledge about the barriers to disclosure for adults and children experiencing domestic abuse.
- Understand how to ask about domestic abuse in appropriate and safe way.
- Recognise the risks and use your professional judgement to escalate cases of domestic abuse.
- Be able to identify and undertake appropriate risk assessment tools and interventions.
- Understand the purpose and workings of the Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conference (MARAC).
- Be able to explore safety planning options with survivors including referrals to support services.
All delegates will receive a presentation pack with refresher notes around the session and useful links/other resources to refer to.
Since we started delivering the courses earlier this year, we have received positive feedback about the quality of the training and resources provided.