Assaults on Police: Body Fluids
(asked on 23rd October 2019) - View Source
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of introducing compulsory blood tests for people who assault police officers with their own bodily fluids.
The question of compulsory blood tests in these circumstances was considered and debated during the parliamentary passage of the Assaults on Emergency Workers Act 2018. At Commons Report stage on 27 April 2018, following consultation with health and policing partners, the Government supported Chris Bryant MP’s amendment removing the relevant clauses. The full transcript of this debate can be found at:
Public Health England worked with stakeholders from across policing (and other emergency services) to produce new guidance for emergency workers to support their assessment and management of exposure to blood-borne viruses (BBV) following assault. The guidance was published in September and will help employing organisations understand how to best support their staff.