Responding to the 2025 NHS Staff Survey, RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive, Professor Nicola Ranger, said:

“Today’s findings once again lift the lid on the torrent of violence, sexual assaults, discrimination and abuse faced by nursing staff and other NHS workers while they try to provide care. Year after year, the figures reveal disgraceful and steadily rising attacks against our predominantly female profession, with no sign of letting up, and falling confidence among staff that employers will do anything about it. This is a national emergency for staff safety and it should profoundly shock us all.

“Employers have a legal duty to protect their staff, but it’s clear so many are failing with these conditions now becoming a daily reality. What staff need isn’t more talk of ‘zero tolerance’. Instead we need a culture of transparency and accountability, where staff are empowered to speak up and employers take action and are seen to take action.

“Alongside action at employer level, we need ministers to recognise and address the link between under-resourced services, waiting times and rising violence against staff. That requires new investment in those services and the nursing workforce, specifically to increase capacity and ease intolerable pressures. If the government’s NHS reforms are to succeed, then the upcoming ten year workforce plan must prioritise eradicating this shocking treatment at work and improving staff experiences.”

Ends

Notes to editors

According to the latest NHS Staff Survey, 14.5% of NHS staff in England experienced at least one incident of physical violence from patients, service users, their relatives or members of the public in the last 12 months, the highest since 2022 (14.8%).

For registered nurses and midwives, 22.6% said they had experienced at least one incident of physical violence from patients, service users, their relatives or members of the public in the last 12 months, the highest since 2022 (23.4%).

25.3% of staff in England experienced at least one incident of harassment, bullying or abuse from patients, service users, their relatives or members of the public in the last 12 months, the highest since 2022 (27.9%).

For registered nurses and midwives, 35.0% said they experienced at least one incident of harassment, bullying or abuse from patients, service users, their relatives or members of the public in the last 12 months, the highest since 2022 (38.5%).

11.4% of registered nurses and midwives said they had experienced at least one incident of unwanted behaviour of a sexual nature in the workplace from patients, service users, their relatives or members of the public, the highest since 2023 (since records began).

13.8% of registered nurses and midwives said they experienced discrimination from patients, services users, relatives or members of the public in the last 12 months, while 10.3% said they experienced discrimination from colleagues over the same period. Of these, 63.2% said this was on the grounds of race.