Summary

In summary, we've reviewed some good and some less good examples of how challenging situations within healthcare settings can be handled.

We've seen that, whilst sometimes difficult in trying circumstances, attention to your behaviour, body language and communication can help to de-escalate potentially aggresive situations. Here's some further advice in this regard from the NICE guidelines of 2005 (Update 2015) that you might have picked up through the scenarios.

• Move towards a safe place and avoid being ‘cornered’
• Allow a greater distance than usual
• Pay attention to non-verbal cues such as eye contact
• Adopt a non-threatening posture
• Appear calm, self-controlled and confident

Finally, remember, it's not realistic to simply expect people to calm down, instead the situation must be carefully managed and following this simple advice will help you to do this.