More than 20 health and social care workers in Northern Ireland are currently on sick leave after being physically attacked while at work, stoking concerns about increased assaults against nurses.
The figures were released by the Northern Ireland Assembly on 17 February in response to a question from Member of the Legislative Assembly for East Londonderry, Claire Sugden.
“This has a long-lasting impact on the physical and mental health of staff, their families, and on services to patients”
Rita Devlin
Of the 22 healthcare staff who were attacked, 10 are social care workers or support staff while 12 are nurses, midwives, allied health professionals or other staff members.
The South Eastern Health and Social Care (HSC) Trust was the worst affected, with nine staff members on sick leave due to an attack at work.
There were four affected staff members from Belfast HSC Trust, five from Northern HSC Trust and the remaining four were from the Southern or Western HSC Trust or the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service.
Executive director of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) in Northern Ireland, Professor Rita Devlin, said that physical and verbal assaults remained a “huge risk” for staff working in all areas of health, from emergency care to community services.
She added that in recent months the RCN had become “increasingly concerned” at the number of newly registered nurses raising concerns about being afraid to go to work and the scale of verbal and physical abuse in workplaces.
Nursing Times and Unison have launched a survey on workplace safety to find out more about nursing and midwifery professionals’ experience of physical violence at work.
The survey, which will run until February 26, is open to all nursing and midwifery staff and students in the UK and aims to shed a light on the kinds of violence they face at work, the impact and frequency of it, and the response from employers when an incident occurs.
Share your experiences here.
Professor Devlin added that the 22 members of staff currently on sick leave because they were assaulted was likely the “tip of the iceberg” with the real extent of the problem unknown because of a lack of up-to-date figures.
“Twenty-two members of staff on sick leave, we believe, is the tip of the iceberg and we are dealing with members every day who have been victims of workplace violence,” Professor Devlin added.
“This has a long-lasting impact on the physical and mental health of staff, their families, and on services to patients,” she said.
She highlighted data from a 2023 RCN survey showing that almost one third (30.9%) of nursing staff in Northern Ireland had experienced physical abuse from patients and relatives in the preceding 12 months, with two-thirds (66.7%) experiencing verbal abuse.
Rita Devlin
“This is a serious and enduring problem and we are very clear that employers have a duty of care to their staff and must provide a safe working environment for all staff,” Professor Devlin said.
“Prevention is key but risk assessment and management must form part of the action to deal with these issues.”
The Department of Health in Northern Ireland published a framework in December 2023, to be used by HSC employers and staff to prevent, reduce and respond to violence and aggression in the workplace.
This framework sets out a “commitment in partnership with staff representatives, to ensure the prevention, reduction and management of violence and aggression towards staff in the workplace, and to ensure associated structures, policies and support is in place to enable staff to work safely.”
However, according to Professor Devlin, this framework has not yet been implemented by any of the trusts in Northern Ireland.
“The RCN demands clear and decisive action by all employers to ensure this is implemented quickly and fully. We need a robust strategy to deal with this issue,” she said.
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