4,000 nurses assaulted on job in just over a year
OVER 4,000 nurses were assaulted at work in just over a year, their union has said, as it called for better security for its members.
The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) said nurses were working in a ‘pressure cooker’ environment, and often bore the brunt of public anger over long waiting times and overcrowding.
It said at least 4,016 nurses were assaulted between January 2023 and February 2024.
‘The conditions in which our members are working in, particularly when overcrowded, can create a pressure cooker-type environment leading to more assaults,’ a spokeswoman said.
‘Nurses and midwives are often the healthcare workers that the public interact with the most and unfortunately can bear the brunt of public anger over conditions and long waiting times.’
A month-by-month breakdown of the figures, which were obtained through a Freedom of Information request, showed March 2023 was the most dangerous month for nurses, with 338 assaults recorded.
In its review of last year’s trolley figures, the INMO had noted 2023 had broken overcrowding records, and record highs were reached in March. December had also seen a particularly high level of assaults – 306 – amid a surge of Covid, flu and RSV cases, leading to busy emergency departments.
Phil Ní Sheaghdha, INMO general secretary, said yesterday: ‘Far too many nurses and midwives are assaulted in the workplace.
Over 4,016 nurses were verbally, physically or sexually assaulted in their workplace last year. We know this is a conservative figure as many nurses and midwives do not report these incidents, nor indeed do their employers.’
She continued: ‘The HSE as an employer needs to radically shift its focus when it comes to the safety of its employees.
‘Our members, the majority of whom are women, need to know that they can go about very difficult jobs of treating patients in a safe manner without having to worry about their own safety.
‘Too many of our members have had career-ending or careerchanging incidents happen to them in the line of their work through no fault of their own. Far too often it is the overcrowded conditions that they are working in that is to blame.’
Ms Ní Sheaghdha said it was imperative each hospital reflected on its own security arrangements and what it was doing to keep nurses and other frontline healthcare workers safe while at work.’
She said the union welcomed the positive response to its request to establish an advisory division for health and social care services within the Health and Safety Authority (HSA).
‘Our expectations are high and we will work with the HSA to ensure it has the same transformative impact on healthcare worker safety as it has had in the construction and farming sectors,’ she said.
Yesterday, the INMO said 506 admitted patients were waiting for beds in Irish hospitals.
A total of 365 patients were waiting in the ED, while 141 were in wards elsewhere. The greatest number – 53 – were waiting at University Hospital Limerick, followed by 41 at University Hospital Galway and 38 at Cork University Hospital.
The HSE said ensuring the safety of employees and service users was a priority, and that it was committed to creating a safe environment. It said it had ‘long been proactive in encouraging staff to report all incidents and directing managers to review all incidents’, while counselling was offered to victims of assault.
‘Staff are encouraged to report all “near misses” and incidents – even those that do not result in harm. Hence, the number of incident reports should not be considered as indicative of a level of harm. There may also be multiple reports relating to the same incident,’ the HSE said.
‘Our expectations are high’