The health care group is one of two Victorian sites piloting the program, which Victorian Mental Health Minister Martin Foley says is a world-first. 

The $2.9 million trial will extend the Safewards Victoria program from hospital mental health inpatient units into emergency departments, where a patient’s experiences often begin.

“Our aim is to reduce any incidents of conflict or containment so that everybody will stay safe,” Bonnie Sheard, of Bendigo Health, said. 

“We have a lot of incidences where patients are needing to be restrained or contained. Previously, we haven’t had areas where we could take our patients to try and deescalate them and settle the situation down, so these techniques as well as a purpose-built room we have in the emergency department can provide those environments.”

She said incidents in which patients had to be restrained were harmful not only for the health care group’s patients, but also for staff.

The pilot starts on February 5. Ninety-five per cent of ED nurses are expected to have received the training by the end of May. 

The trial will run for a year, after which it will be assessed by the University of Melbourne.

“We’ve seen Safewards roll out internationally in the mental health areas of many, many hospitals around the globe,” Mr Foley said.

“So we’re confident on the basis of all the evidence seen elsewhere this trial will be a great success.”

Results from Bendigo Health and Peninsula Health, the other trial site, could see Safewards Victoria extended to emergency departments across the state.

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Ms Sheard said the techniques staffers would be learning and implementing would help develop a quick rapport with patients and develop mutual trust and respect. 

“The emergency department is a very stressful environment and builds a lot of anxiety for anybody,” she said.

As part of the trial, sensory equipment such as weighted toys and blankets will be available to staffers to help keep people calm.

“These are just items we can bring in to help patients from the situation that’s happening… try and relax them a little bit, calm them down and let them stay where they need to be to get the care they need in a safe environment,” Ms Sheard said.

Mr Foley said Bendigo Health saw 55,000 presentations to its emergency department in its first year of operation at the new hospital. 

“A large number of them have some form of mental illness issues,” he said.

“How we make sure they’re safe, other patients are safe, but more importantly how the professional staff here at the Bendigo Hospital are safe is really, really important.

“Violence in the workplace is unacceptable.”

He said it was the responsibility of both the hospital and the government to support people to be safe both accessing services and working at the health care group.

Bendigo Health received 290 reports of occupational violence, across the health care group, in the past financial year.

Violence against staffers dropped 30 per cent in three years and was significantly lower than comparable regional centres.

Earlier in September, the Health and Community Services Union made claims of ongoing violence and threats to nurses in the hospital’s adult psychiatric unit. 

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Mr Foley said the hospital’s participation in the trial was based on its willingness to get involved.

“Bendigo stood up and said, 'We want to be a part of this' - a new hospital, an ability to shape the culture early and a really strong commitment to safety and well being by the hospital administration and, of course, the determination of the staff here to be a part of that,” he said.

“We're quite confident Bendigo is a fantastic place to trial this because it's big, it's growing and it's got lots of challenges as how to deliver world-quality care.

“I want to thank all the staff here at Bendigo and in the emergency department for stepping forward and leading the way.”

Bendigo Health trialled Safewards in its mental health inpatient unit in 2014-15. It was one of 13 wards in seven hospitals involved at the time.

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