Criminal sanctions rise for assaults on NHS staff | Nov 11

11 Nov 11

According to figures just released by NHS Protect, sanctions taken against those who assault NHS staff have increased by almost a quarter on last year. Brian Sims examines the published statistics.

1,397 criminal sanctions were applied following cases of assault in 2010-2011 compared to 1,128 applied in 2009-2010, representing an increase of almost 24%.

In 2010-2011 there were 18,060 reported physical assaults against NHS staff in England that didn't involve medical factors. This is a 19% decrease on the figure for 2009-2010, which stood at 22,381.

In total, for 2010-2011 there were 57,830 reported physical assaults against NHS staff in England compared with 56,718 in 2009-2010.

Richard Hampton, the local support and development services manager at NHS Protect, said: “Staff committed to providing our National Health Service should never be expected to suffer violence at work, and it will not be tolerated. NHS Protect urges employers to take firm action in all cases of assault against NHS staff."

Commenting on the small increase in total assaults, Hampton said: “We believe it reflects both an improved culture of reporting assaults and better mechanisms that are now in place to record them. Rightly, staff demand that their reports of violence are followed-up. Tough action is being taken to ensure that all NHS organisations work better with local police and other agencies to clamp down on anyone who is aggressive and abusive to NHS staff."

A raft of extra measures have recently been put in place to better protect NHS staff. These include:

a new joint working agreement with the Association of Chief Police Officers and the Crown Prosecution Service to ensure criminal assaults are identified and do not go unpunished

greater use of, and training in, powers to crack down on low-level nuisance behaviour and stop it from escalating into violence against staff (powers under the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act)

Since April 2011, NHS Protect has put in place an enhanced network of Area Security Management Specialists (ASMS) across England. Giving guidance to Local Security Management Specialists (LSMS), they assist the NHS in assessing risks of violence, addressing these through prevention work and pursuing legal action when assaults do occur.