St Giles marked 10 years of its pioneering hospital-based violence reduction work with a special event in London on Tuesday 13 January, bringing together NHS leaders, policymakers, partners and frontline practitioners to reflect on a decade of impact and the future of violence prevention.
The event featured contributions from Dr Martin Griffiths, Trauma Surgeon and NHS Violence Reduction Lead; Lib Peck, Director of the London Violence Reduction Unit; Chloe Holness, Senior Manager of the London Violence Reduction Unit, Tanveer Sian, Director at Social Finance; and Tracey Burley, Chief Executive of St Giles. Guests also heard from St Giles’ hospital-based practitioners Roisin Keville, Samir Khattab, Tamecka Lumsden and Jessica Peters, alongside two young people who shared powerful personal reflections on how the service had helped them reach safety and stability.
St Giles launched its first hospital-based violence reduction service in 2015 at The Royal London Hospital’s Major Trauma Centre, following a partnership with clinicians seeking to break the cycle of repeat violent injury. The model expanded in 2019 and 2020 with the introduction of Emergency Department-based services, allowing practitioners to intervene earlier and prevent escalation.
Using the critical “reachable moment” when a young person is admitted with a violence-related injury, trained practitioners provide intensive, one-to-one support in hospital and after discharge. The work addresses underlying drivers of harm including trauma, exploitation, housing instability, education disengagement and mental health helping young people stay safe and rebuild their lives.
The impact is clear. A five-year independent study at The Royal London Hospital showed a re-admission rate of just 7%, compared with a national average of 30–35% for this age group. Over the past decade, St Giles’ hospital teams have supported 1,586 children and young people to move away from violence and towards safety.
Between April 2024 and March 2025:
- Over 90% improved relationships with family or carers
- 88% reduced their risk and exposure to violence
- 94% improved school attendance and engagement
- 89% improved mental health and wellbeing
- 86% were no longer involved in gang activity
- 87% were no longer going missing
- 90% secured safe housing
This approach has contributed to significant reductions in knife-related harm in London and the West Midlands. However, speakers highlighted that continued investment is essential to sustain progress and expand this proven model to areas of the UK where violence is rising and frontline services are under increasing pressure.
St Giles is proud to deliver this award-winning, life-saving work in partnership with the London Violence Reduction Unit, West Midlands Violence Reduction Partnership and Bedfordshire Violence and Exploitation Prevention Partnership.
The event celebrated not only a decade of innovation and evidence-led practice, but the young people and practitioners at the heart of the work — and a shared commitment to preventing violence before it claims more lives.