Over 5000 assaults on Glasgow NHS staff in one year
The figures are from 31st May 2018 to 31st May 2019
More than 5000 NHS staff in Greater Glasgow and Clyde have suffered verbal or physical assaults in the past year.
The total number is 5,182 healthcare staff, the figure comes despite a concerted and ongoing campaign to combat aggression.
Included within the statistics were six counts of stalking and 13 incidents of sexual harassment.
The Health Board have said the figures show violence and aggression are a serious problem facing healthcare workers. They hope that by highlighting the extent of the incidents, it can help reduce and deter such incidents.
Anne MacPherson, Director of Human Resources and Organisational Development, said: “Despite us introducing a range of measures to protect our staff we are unfortunately still seeing incidents of both physical and verbal abuse.
“In some instances staff have required support from Police Scotland because of the danger to their own and patients’ wellbeing, and that is unacceptable.
“As a Board we are committed to reducing and deterring such incidents as well as ensuring staff are trained to deal with situations when they do arise. We must do all we can to protect our staff whilst delivering our services 24-hours a day, seven days a week. Our staff should be able to fulfil their duties without fear of assault or abuse.”
Kenneth Fleming, Head of Health and Safety, added: “NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde has a proactive Violence and Aggression Policy and also a Standards of Behaviour document, which states that our staff are entitled to work free of threats, assaults and intimidation.
“We take any acts of physical or verbal abuse very seriously. Where staff are assaulted or abused while at work, whether in our hospitals or in the community, we fully support them and encourage them to pursue their abusers through the criminal justice system.
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