Responding to figures from the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, which show nearly three quarters of A&E staff experience or witness violence and aggression at work at least once a week, RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive Professor Nicola Ranger said:

“These figures are profoundly shocking and show the torrent of abuse that health workers face, sometimes on a daily basis. We know the NHS is becoming a more dangerous place to work, and this falls especially hard on female dominated professions like nursing. Far too many are being forced to take time off or even leave the profession because of the physical and mental scarring that can result from these attacks.

“Employers have a legal duty to protect their staff. Tackling this emergency isn’t easy, but employers, those at the top of the NHS and the government must face it head on. The starting point for employers has to be transparency and accountability and that means acting, being seen to act, and empowering staff to speak up. At a national level, we need strong urgency from the government on addressing the rising pressures on services which are catalysing this appalling behaviour.”

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