The NHS has launched a new training syllabus aimed at tackling violence against frontline staff in mental health and learning disability services.

Promoting Safer and Therapeutic Services was developed by an NHS Security Management Service to provide training in recognising, de-escalating and managing potentially violent incidents, and aims to improve staff and service-user safety.

From early next year, the NHS Security Management Service will begin training the new Local Security Management Specialists (LSMS) in mental health and learning disability services.

Latesy figures show that there were 43,301 incidents of physical assault against NHS staff working in mental health and learning disability settings in 2004/05 across England.

Jim Gee, Chief Executive of the NHS Security Management Service (SMS) said: "This new national training syllabus and the role of the Local Security Management Specialist, the first of its kind in the NHS, is part of a robust framework that the NHS SMS has introduced to improve the safety and security of NHS staff, patients and visitors. Our overall aim is to train 750,000 frontline NHS staff in conflict resolution over the next few years."

Professor Louis Appleby, National Director for Mental Health, said that the aim of the training would be to help provide safe services for those who both work in and use these services. "We hope to see further improvements in reporting of incidents and reductions in violence against staff, but most of all we hope to prevent the factors that can trigger or exacerbate violence," he added.