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Almost 35,000 assaults on NHS hospital staff in Northern Ireland over the last five years shock figures reveal

Attacks on hospital staff are on the rise, figures have revealed
Attacks on hospital staff are on the rise, figures have revealed Attacks on hospital staff are on the rise, figures have revealed

THERE have been almost 35,000 assaults on NHS hospital staff in Northern Ireland over the last five years.

Overall, there were 34,373 of these assaults recorded between January 2013 and December 2017. This works out at, on average, nearly 19 such incidents per day.

Deputy Director of the Royal College of Nursing for Northern Ireland, Garrett Martin, told investigative website The Detail: “It’s not acceptable. Under no circumstances should these assaults be seen as an occupational hazard.

“To think that 19 incidents per day are being recorded across the hospitals in Northern Ireland is a great cause for concern.”

There have been almost 35,000 assaults on hospital staff since 2013
There have been almost 35,000 assaults on hospital staff since 2013 There have been almost 35,000 assaults on hospital staff since 2013

The information compiled by The Detail shows that some staff were bruised, concussed, bitten and burned, while one was choked.

Others suffered lacerations, fractures, sprains, deep tissue injuries, musculoskeletal injuries and psychological trauma such as shock and post traumatic stress disorder, while one individual suffered a nerve/spinal cord injury.

Mr Martin said one of the greatest issues of concern was the number of sexual assaults on staff.

The Detail sent five separate Freedom of Information requests to the Belfast, Western, South Eastern, Southern and Northern Health and Social Care Trusts.

Statistics show there were more than 10,000 assaults on staff in both the Belfast and South Eastern trust areas with almost 7,000 in the Southern trust, just over 4,000 in the Western and around 2,400 in the Northern trust.

Each trust holds statistics on assaults in different ways - for example at the Western trust almost a quarter of assaults were classified as 'verbal abuse.'

A detailed breakdown reveals that of assaults carried out in the Belfast trust, 45 per cent of those attacked were physically injured, while this jumped to 52 per cent in the South Eastern trust.

Attacks on healthcare workers are on the rise. Picture by Rui Vieira, Press Association
Attacks on healthcare workers are on the rise. Picture by Rui Vieira, Press Association Attacks on healthcare workers are on the rise. Picture by Rui Vieira, Press Association

In the Southern trust unspecified weapons were used in 147 assaults while in the Northern trust 94 per cent of assaults were against nursing staff while in the Western trust 81 per cent of assaults were on nurses, midwives or nursing assistants/auxiliaries.

The Belfast trust said 149 nursing students and one medical student was assaulted.

Asked why he thought assaults were occurring at such a rate Mr Martin said: “The reasons are complex.

“The nature of those being assaulted in an emergency department would be very different than those carried out in a mental health unit or a ward where patients have delirium or dementia for example.

“But, there is no doubt about it, one of the factors and one of the reasons is the lack of safe levels of staffing in certain wards and departments. That will impact on this and have a negative impact on the incidents. It isn’t acceptable.”

He also said more investment was needed in the area of mental health "to make sure those patients get the appropriate care and intervention".

“The mental health arena is complex and we need to ensure that there are enough staffing levels to treat people with significant psychological and emotional needs.

“Currently though, we know that investment in those services isn’t what it should be."

Sean McGovern, a consultant in Accident and Emergency Medicine at the Ulster Hospital, added: “Low staffing levels undoubtedly contribute to an environment in which staff are more likely to be assaulted. It creates unease and discomfort amongst patients and leaves the staff vulnerable,”

But, he said the issue was "more complex" given the challenges hospitals area facing particularly since A&E units are busier than 10 to 15 years ago, "especially at the weekends when people are intoxicated on drugs and alcohol.”

The Department of Health (DoH) has declined to comment on the figures.