The proportion of NHS staff who have been attacked at work is at a three-year high, a survey has revealed.

The poll of 766,000 NHS staff in England showed some 14.47% reported at least one incident of violence from patients or other members of the public in the past 12 months – the highest figure since 2022.

More than a quarter of workers also experienced harassment, bullying or abuse in the same period, the survey showed, up slightly from 2024.

And almost one in 10 said they had been the target of unwanted sexual behaviour from patients; the highest figure recorded in the three years staff have been asked about this.

Discrimination from patients and the public was reported by nearly one in 10, a slight increase on last year and the highest number on record. Nearly 9% said they had faced discrimination from managers, team leaders or colleagues.

Danny Mortimer, director general for NHS England, said: “These figures paint a deeply worrying picture of the abuse our hardworking NHS staff face. Staff safety and well-being is paramount, and we want everyone experiencing any kind of unwanted incident to feel confident enough to report it. We must look at what more we can do to support the people who keep our services running.”

Approximately half of all staff, 55%, said they felt confident that their organisation would address their concerns, the lowest proportion in five years.

Fewer than half of staff, 46.51%, said they could meet all the conflicting demands on their time at work. Less than a third – 32.8% – said their organisation had enough staffing for them to do their job properly.

Both figures represent a slight decrease on last year.

Actions:
  1. Ensure staff receive regular conflict resolution, de-escalation training.
  2. Review violence and aggression reporting policies and ensure staff support mechanisms are in place.
  3. Contact your Local Security Management Specialist for advice on physical security, violence and aggression, lone working, personal safety, staff training.

Source: Attacks on NHS staff reach three-year high in ‘deeply worrying’ survey