Launched in June, the project was awarded the CEO Quality Improvement Award (systems) last week.
Security team leader Jody Teremoana said security staff had previously not been trained to deal with violent or abusive situations, other than in mental-health wards, where the situation was different.
Mr Teremoana, who has worked at the hospital since 1992, was seeing more aggressive, intoxicated patients in the emergency department who had been assaulted.
Many were upset about what had happened to them, and took it out on staff, he said.
The problem was exacerbated by declining respect for authority, he said.
Before the programme, staff drew on their own experience or other training to defuse dangerous situations.
Devised with the help of Dunedin's Todd Group, the programme was used in the emergency department and other wards.
It had been specifically tailored for a hospital setting, on those who might be injured. The 10-hour self-defence programme would be renewed yearly by each security team member.
The award's $1500 prize would be used to fund a different workplace initiative, Mr Teremoana said.
Service support and development manager (Otago) Heather Fleming said that for too long, hospital clinical and security staff had put up with dangerous and abusive behaviour from people.
Aggressive patient incidents were increasing, she said.
The winner of the clinical CEO Quality Improvement Award was a Southland surgical project which streamlined pre-operative processes.
