51,100 violent incidents directed at NHS staff since 2019

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP has today said that the SNP government must do more to stop violent attacks on NHS staff after research by his party found there had been more than 51,100 of these incidents since 2019.  

The party asked each of Scotland’s health boards to provide the number of incidents involving members of the public displaying violent behaviour towards NHS staff since 2019.

The responses from the boards revealed:

• There have been 51,170 violent incidents directed at NHS staff since 2019.
• Many boards only provided the figures for staff in general, but of those able to give a more specific breakdown: 25,142 incidents were directed towards nursing staff, while 344 were at doctors and 63 at midwives.
• Tayside saw the highest number of violent incidents directed against staff since 2019 with 10,689, followed by Fife with 8,622 and Glasgow with 8,338.
• Last year alone, Lothian saw 1,178 incidents and Highland saw 1,138 incidents.
• Since 2019, in Borders and Dumfries and Galloway combined, there have been 3,566 violent incidents against NHS staff.

Mr Cole-Hamilton said:

“Like any other employee, NHS staff deserve to go to work without fear of violence or harassment.

“Staff are there to provide care, treatment and support. Often, they are under significant pressure in trying to do so; the last thing they need is to be met with violence and abuse.

“Incidents are still stubbornly high year after year, so I want to see the Scottish Government working closely with health boards, medical bodies and trade unions to understand what staff need to be safe at work.

“Ministers must also ensure that those who behave so abhorrently are given swift and thorough punishments, making it clear that violence will not be tolerated.”