‘One in five staff’ at hospitals assaulted
ALMOST one in five members of staff at Southport and Ormskirk hospitals was assaulted by patients or other members of the public last year.
According to responses to the NHS staff survey, 17.5% of staff at Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust said they had experienced physical violence from patients, their relatives or other members of the public in 2017.
Levels of staff reporting physical assaults in Me r s e y s i d e were at their highest level since at least 2012, when the question was first asked in its current form.
Among the 45% of staff who responded, 1.4% said they had been assaulted m o r e than 10 times.
A spokesperson for Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust, said: “The trust is committed to protecting staff from risks to their health and safety.
“Staff are encouraged to report incidents of verbal or physical ph sical abuse which hich we can then learn from and use to enhance practice and staff training.
“Often assaults happen as a result of the patient’s illness. We work closely with local police and provide them with all necessary support to pursue the prosecution of offenders where it is appropriate.”
Throughout England, 15.2% of respondents experienced physical violence from patients, relatives or the public in the past 12 months.
This has risen from 15% 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.”
Approximately 1.1 million NHS employees in England were invited to participate in the NHS staff survey between September 2017 and November 2017.
A total of 487,227 – 45% – responded.
Staff were sent a paper questionnaire or an email containing a link to an online questionnaire.