Reporting incidents of workplace violence in the NHS will become mandatory under new measures to tackle the rise in violence against healthcare staff, it has been announced.
Health and social care secretary Wes Streeting today said the government would “act to keep NHS staff safe at work” and reiterated that nurses and other healthcare workers should be able to “turn people away” if they are subjected to abuse.
“The right to access treatment does not mean that staff have to put up with whatever you throw at them”
Wes Streeting
His comments came during his keynote speech at Unison’s annual Health Care Service Group Conference, being held in Liverpool this week.
During the keynote, he unveiled new measures will be put in place to encourage staff to report incidents of violence or aggression towards them, and to ensure that this information is collected at a national level.
Data will also be analysed to better understand if certain staff groups – whether by race, gender, disability status or role – face disproportionate risks and to allow trusts to protect their most vulnerable workers.
A survey published last month by Nursing Times and Unison revealed that almost all nursing and midwifery workers in the UK had experienced physical violence at work.
Staff reported being grabbed, punched, bitten, spat at, strangled, headbutted and even stabbed.
Further, the latest NHS Staff Survey revealed that 34.5% of nurses and midwives had experienced harassment, bullying or abuse at work by the public, while 14% had experienced discrimination.
Mr Streeting said: “Today I can announce we will act to keep NHS staff safe at work.
“Incidents will be recorded at national level, data will be analysed so that those most at risk can be protected, trust boards will be made to report on progress they’re making to keep staff safe.
“Protecting staff from violence is not an optional extra, we are making it mandatory.”
Mr Streeting said he had been reflecting on the fallout of a mass stabbing in Southport last year, when three children were killed.
Race riots broke out across the UK in response to the attacks, fuelled by racism and misinformation, and healthcare workers were targeted.
Mr Streeting said: “The far right exploited that pain as an excuse to rampage through our streets.
“Filipino nurses came under attack from racist thugs on their way into work, wearing their NHS uniforms; GP surgeries closed early out of fear of rioters; a Nigerian care worker saw his car torched.
“Those thugs represented the worst of our country, our health and care workers represent the best.
“This government will never walk by on the other side when it comes to standing up against racist hate, intimidation or violence, because no one should go to work fearing violence, least of all those all of us rely on for our healthcare.”
More on violence against staff
Following the far-right riots, Mr Streeting declared that nurses and other clinicians could – and should – turn away patients if they are being racist or abusive.
He reiterated that pledge today, after he was quizzed by Corrie Martin, a Unison member, on what he was going to do to “clamp down on violence, aggression and abuse” against NHS staff.
Mr Streeting said: “Accessing the NHS is a right, and healthcare free at the point of need is a right… but that right doesn’t come with a license to abuse staff.
“The right to access treatment does not mean that staff have to put up with whatever you throw at them, whether words or assaults or worse.
“And staff have got to have the right to say no, and to turn people away and to start teaching people the hard way that… these aren’t people that you can walk all over or worse.
“I think until we start genuinely enforcing that and making zero tolerance mean zero tolerance this will continue, and I hope that the changes we make today will be a step in the right direction.”
The measures today are part of a range of recommendations accepted by the government under the Agenda for Change contract, following the agreement of the 2023 pay deal.
Measures include enhanced career progression support for nurses, including more learning and development; leadership training and career coaching for managers; as well as guidance for employers on how to recognise overseas experience on appointment into the NHS.
It comes as Unison’s health conference heard earlier this week that overseas nurses were being pushed out of the UK because they were not being recognised for their skills or experience.
Meanwhile, Mr Streeting also pledged to address longstanding issues around ensuring staff are paid correctly for the work they deliver.
It comes as Unison has been running a national campaign to improve pay and recognition for NHS staff, including nurses.
The union announced yesterday that its Pay Fair for Patient Care campaign had seen as many as 40,000 health workers up-banded, with £154m won in back pay.
The Department of Health and Social Care is now working closely with NHS England, NHS Employers and the NHS Staff Council to implement a national digital system to support “fair and consistent application” of the job evaluation scheme.
Mr Streeting said: “There have been too many disputes because NHS staff haven’t been paid according to their job description rather than their job.
“So we’re bringing in a new digital system to make sure the job evaluation scheme is applied fairly across the board, honouring the demand that has echoed down the labour movement for generations – a fair day’s work for a fair day’s pay.
“A campaign fought by Unison, denied by the Tories delivered with a Labour government.”
Reacting to the measures announced today, Unison head of health, Helga Pile, said: “Grading, the treatment of overseas staff and tackling the increasing number of attacks on NHS workers are all issues that should have been dealt with years ago.
“But these were neglected by Conservative governments. It’s helpful the government is picking up what the previous administration failed to do.”
Ms Pile welcomed the announcement around introducing a standard format for the way violent incidents are recorded, and said it would “make it easier to spot those trusts failing to protect staff”.
She added: “This must be something trusts are required to do. So the devil will be in the detail.
“The hope will be that these measures aren’t lost in the chaos and cuts associated with the abolition of NHS England, and the merging of staff and functions with the Department of Health and Social Care.”
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