SGH introduces personal panic button to better protect staff from abuse

2/27/2025 4:00:00 PM |

The article is contributed/written by

MEDIA RELEASE

Singapore, 27 February 2025 – Healthcare worker abuse cases at the Singapore General Hospital (SGH) has been on the rise in recent years, with majority of them occurring at the emergency department (ED). To better protect staff, the Hospital has introduced a wearable personal panic button device that can be activated for help when they find themselves at risk of being abused.

When faced with an abusive patient or next-of-kin (NOK), staff will first attempt to calm the aggressor down and only activate Code Grey if they need assistance to control the situation. Staff can do so by pressing and holding down the button located on the device, which is no bigger than a credit card, for two seconds. The device which is part of a real time locating system (RTLS) then pinpoints the staff’s location, triggering an SMS to notify the nurse manager on duty and security team to provide swift on-site support. An announcement will also be made over the PA system in ED to trigger Code Grey.

“We do not condone abuse and harassment towards our staff who work hard to provide the care that our patients need. It is important that we provide our staff with a safe environment to work in so that they can continue giving their best. And we hope that the personal panic button can give them this reassurance”, said Jeremy Zhang, Senior Nurse Manager, Emergency Medicine, SGH.

Jointly developed by ED and the Department of Future Health System, 20 sets were first issued to selected ED staff in November 2023 for a year-long pilot. On analysing the data collected, the team found that the response time for staff to get help is now four times faster. Previously, staff had to rely on nearby colleagues to take notice and help, which can be very challenging in a crowded and busy ED.

“Our survey results showed that over 80 per cent of staff find it easy to press the button for help. Majority of them also felt safer after being equipped with the personal panic button. This allows the situation to de-escalate quicker so that staff would not have to face the aggressive patient/NOK alone”, said Claire Wong, Senior Manager (Innovation and Technology), Future Health System, SGH.

The team is looking to equip all ED staff with a personal panic button device when the ED shifts to the new SGH Emergency /National Neuroscience Institute building by the end of this year.

This is among the many initiatives that SGH has introduced over the years to provide support for healthcare workers confronted with abusive situations. The Hospital organises "How to Deal with Challenging Situations" courses regularly for frontline staff and their supervisors. A training kit was also developed for patient fronting departments. The kit contains information on how staff can protect themselves in tense situations, and simple techniques to de-escalate the situation and to calm the aggressor.

SGH also offers a peer support programme to provide counseling, emotional support and practical help for staff who were on the receiving end of physical and verbal abuse at work as they could suffer from physical harm and psychosocial effects such as depression, burnout or post-traumatic stress disorder.

For media enquiries, please contact:

Teo Kian Nguan (Mr)

Communications Department

Email: [email protected]