ONE IN FIVE STAFF AT HOSPITAL HAS BEEN ASSAULTED

SHOCKING FACTS ARE REVEALED IN WORKERS’ SURVEY

ONE in five members of staff at George Eliot Hospital were assaulted by patients or other members of the public last year.

According to responses to the NHS staff survey, 19 per cent of staff at the trust said they had experienced physical violence from patients, their relatives or other members of the public in 2017, up from 16.2 per cent in 2016.

Among staff who responded, 1.8 per cent said they had been assaulted between six and 10 times and three per cent said they had been assaulted more than 10 times.

Of those who experienced physical violence, 21.8 per cent said neither they or their colleague had reported the last incident of any violence they had experienced.

As well as physical violence, 27 per cent of staff said they had experienced harassment, bullying or abuse from patients, their relatives or other members of the public last year.

This was up from 23.4 per cent in 2016.

At University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire , 16.2 per cent of staff reported experiencing physical violence, the same as in 2016, with 27.8 per cent saying neither they nor a colleague had reported the last incident, while 15.7 per cent of staff at South Warwickshire said they had experienced violence, up from 15.5 per cent, with 22.7 per cent saying they had not reported.

At the University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire, 27.4 per cent of staff said they had experienced harassment, bullying or abuse, while it was 28.3 per cent at South Warwickshire.

The Telegraph has contacted George Eliot Hospital and University Hos- pital Coventry and Warwickshire for a comment.

Across England, 15.2 per cent of staff experienced physical violence from patients, relatives or the public in the last 12 months.

This has risen from 15.0 per cent in 2016 and is the highest this indicator has been in the past five years.

BMA representative body chair, Dr Anthea Mowat, said: “We know more needs to be done to protect NHS staff across the country; they should not be expected to work in an environment where they are harassed or assaulted by their patients.

“As pressure on services mount, the knock-on impact of increased waiting times and worsening access to care, can lead to greater patient frustration and increased tension.

“But, in addition to the necessary investment in services which we need to help alleviate this frustration, we also need measures to tackle the underlying causes and stop the offences occurring in the first place.”

The Violence Against Emergency Workers Bill, which is currently being considered by the House of Lords, includes proposals to make it a specific offence to physically assault health care staff and other emergency workers, with tougher sentences for people who carry out such attacks, after bodies such as the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), lobbied to extend to cover all staff employed to provide NHS services, and to cover sexual assault as well as physical assault.

Kim Sunley, RCN National Officer, said: “This Bill is a significant step towards stamping out violence against nurses, and it is gratifying that MPs have recognised that wilful assaults and sexual violence against health care staff should attract severe punishment. We will keep the pressure up as the Bill makes its way through the Lords.

“But this is not the final word on the matter. These attacks do not happen in a vacuum, and the RCN will continue to work with MPs to secure the best result for our members.

“Improved staffing levels, properly funded services and better support from employers would help further mitigate the risk that too many health care staff run day in, day out.”

And George Eliot Hospital’s Director of Human Resources, Sue Wakeman said: “Our professional and dedicated teams should not have to work in fear of their safety when they are trying their best to care for patients . Violence and aggression against our staff is unacceptable and we do every- thing we can to support staff if this occurs. We encourage our staff to report this whenever they experience it.” Approximately 1.1million NHS employees in England were invited to participate in the NHS staff survey between September 2017 and November 2017.

Staff were sent a paper questionnaire or an email containing a link to an online questionnaire.