Those working in the National Health Service face a higher-than-average risk of experiencing workplace violence, according to a report for NHS Resolution, the arm’s length body of the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC).
The report was aired at the NAHS (National Association for Healthcare Security) annual conference at the University of Birmingham this week, as part of numerous presentations about violence reduction. Roger Ringham, chair of NAHS, was among members of a project advisory group thanked in the report.
In a foreword to the report, Megan Bidder, Director of Safety and Learning at NHS Resolution, pointed to the ‘physical and psychological injuries’, besides ‘wider impacts’ on the NHS, such as absenteeism, a reduction in staff retention and associated financial costs – as the NAHS event heard – such as relying more on agency and bank workers.
The report covered some 5,287 claims, between the fiscal years 2010/11 and 2019/20. NHS Resolution works on clinical and non-clinical claims. Of those claims, some 4,674 were closed, at a cost of £61.4m. Of the successful claims, a majority, 65 per cent of those pursuing a claim for workplace violence, typically an assault, were women, which reflects the fact that the majority of NHS staff are female. The quality and accuracy of risk assessments were noted to be inadequate and did not acknowledge an escalating risk of violence. Staffing often did not include an adequate number of people who had completed training in the prevention of violence.
Common injuries were orthopaedic, such as broken bones. The report looks in detail sat a sample of 40 successful closed claims. All 40 cited a breach of health and safety at work regulations, such as a requirement upon employers to make a ‘suitable and sufficient’ risk assessment.
What they say
Megan Bidder said: “Each one of these claims represents a member of NHS staff who has experienced the physical and psychological distress of being involved in an incident of violence at work. The report illustrates the impact this has on those staff and the patients they care for. It is vital that staff are safe and protected at work and the learning which is drawn from these claims will help to prevent these incidents happening in the future.”
Kim Sunley, Head of Health, Safety and Wellbeing at the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) said that the figures in the report shine a shocking light on the level of violence and aggression many nursing staff face while doing their job. She said: “This kind of behaviour is never acceptable and yet it can be a daily occurrence for many healthcare workers. While the financial cost can be measured, the physical and emotional toll can be far longer lasting, and staff must be fully supported when such incidents occur.
“Employers must also do more to protect staff as they do their jobs and create an environment where they can report incidents and know they will be taken seriously, and action will be taken.”
A recent report from the RCN on factors underpinning suicidal thought among the nursing workforce noted that in the National Health Survey (by NHS England, in 2022) that stress, bullying and harassment, the experience of physical violence, moral injury and burnout are all likely to increase ‘suicidal ideation’.
