Presentations for new NHS nurses from overseas

The aims of this initiative are to:

• encourage new nurses to feel confident about contacting the police if they experience or witness hate crime
• improve trust and confidence in British policing
• increase levels of crime reporting

This is achieved through a presentation, which provides practical advice about moving to the region and key policing topics related to hate crime. The policing topics include information about: 

• hate crime
• crime prevention
• safeguarding 
• violence against women and girls (VAWG)

• Improved community and NHS staff safety.
• Improved reporting of crime from new nurses (measured from local data compared to those who have received this input).
• Increased confidence in policing for new NHS nurses from overseas.

Northumbria Police has started several initiatives to help address hate crime. These include the delivery of hate crime awareness training in hospitals and the delivery of out of court resolutions for some hate crime incidents. 

As part of the drive to address hate crime, the force identified that two of the top three hate crime hotspots in the force area were NHS premises. The force sought to:

• improve levels of hate crime reporting
• encourage awareness of hate crime among hospital staff
• ensure new nurses from overseas feel confident to report such crime to the police

About the presentation

The initiative is a joint presentation given by the regional NHS lead and police community engagement teams. The presentation takes a morning or afternoon.

Topics included in the presentation can vary, depending on what is deemed most appropriate for the particular audience. The policing elements typically include sessions on:

• how to report hate crime
• some of the legislation around hate crime
• information around how to contact the police and other local assistance services

The presentation also offers practical assistance on moving to the region. For example, providing information about local community groups relevant to the audience demographic.

In addition to the policing topics, the NHS lead adds some lived experience to the presentation (having been a victim of hate crime). Various community safety literature is provided from the force at a minimal cost.

The presentation is delivered in large NHS premises that are seeing classes of new nurses arriving to the area (from 20-100 at a time). It is estimated that approximately 1,000 nurses have received the presentation since the initiative began.

• Feedback suggests the presentations have been very well received by new nurses.
• Increased reporting and awareness of hate crime have been suggested to have real value for the hospital staff.
• The force has found improved relationships with NHS contacts as an unintended consequence of this initiative.
• The force has developed a problem-oriented approach to addressing hate crime issues as a pilot for sharing with other areas.

• The force highlights the importance of consistency across NHS trusts. This ensures that all trusts adopt the initiative and provide the same input (with some changes for relevance), so each group of nurses gets the same core information.
• Holding sessions online during COVID-19 reduced engagement.
• Presentation terminology should be agreed beforehand. There are some differences between health and policing terminology, which may inhibit understanding.
• This initiative could be developed further to be used for overseas students arriving at local universities and colleges.