Health systems have a crucial role in identifying, responding and preventing violence against women. This is especially the case when women are more likely to disclose their abuse to health care professionals. Yet despite being able to respond to child protection issues, hospital-based research confirms that health staff responses to domestic and family violence are poor. One primary reason being, because they lack confidence and skills in addressing domestic and family violence. There are legal and ethical implications for hospital and health service administrators who need to train their staff and improve policies and procedures to support a systems change so that health staff can respond to patient related domestic and family violence.

This paper includes some scenarios faced by social workers working in a hospital context. Consideration is given to a range of strategies used to improve health staff responses to domestic and family violence including, a staff training initiative and the development of new policies and procedures. These strategies aim to provide allied health, nursing and medical staff with a clear and safe process for people presenting in emergency departments and, who are identified on hospital wards, with suspected or reported injuries due to domestic and family violence. These strategies include health, legal and family interventions with clear referral pathways to better support victims of domestic and family violence. These changes are needed in a hospital context so that care and treatment for medical and surgical presentations in emergency departments is attended to and, health staff respond appropriately and in a timely manner, to better support people experiencing domestic and family violence. Although overdue, health staff and health care organisations are joining the movement to stop domestic and family violence in Australia.