The Healthcare Commission’s annual NHS staff survey suggests fewer NHS workers face violence and abuse from patients and their relatives.
The commission praised NHS trusts on what the inspectors called the first significant sign of a trend towards fewer staff facing physical attacks, bullying and harassment from patients or their relatives. Out of 209,000 respondents, 28 per cent said they had experienced either violence or abuse in the previous 12 months, compared with 31 per cent in 2004 and 32 per cent in 2003. But the Commission said it was too early to say whether the trend would carry on and urged NHS trusts to continue their efforts to tackle the problem.
The survey highlighted low numbers of staff reporting incidents of violence and abuse. These account for only half of those experiencing harassment, bullying or abuse from any source, and only 67 per cent of those experiencing a physical attack. Only half of those questioned agreed that their employer would take effective action if staff were physically attacked. Only one in four reported that they had had training in preventing and handling aggression from others in the last 12 months.
More in the may print edition of Professional Security.
