Wigan hospital staff face rising violence from public

Health think tank The King's Fund said the recent NHS staff survey findings will be "cause for concern" as ministers rely on the NHS workforce to deliver plans for improvement and reform.

Figures from the survey show 11.1 per cent of respondents at Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust (WWL) said they experienced at least one incident of violence from patients, service users, their relatives or other members of the public last year.

It was up from 10.7 per cent in 2023.

Meanwhile, 21.3 per cent of staff said they experienced harassment, bullying or abuse from the public.

The overall level of violence worsened across England, with 14.4 per cent of staff experiencing violence from the public last year, up from 13.9 per cent.

The proportion of those who dealt with bullying and harassment by the public remained at 25 per cent.

A WWL spokesperson said: “At Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, we are committed to ensuring a safe and respectful environment for our staff. We operate and enforce a ‘Zero Tolerance’ policy for abusive or threatening behaviour towards our staff. Any incident of abuse, threats or assault towards our staff is unacceptable and will not be tolerated. This includes verbal abuse, aggressive tone and/or language, swearing, racial abuse, or sexual harassment.

“Our staff work tirelessly caring for patients and saving lives, and their safety is paramount. We welcome and encourage the public to access our services when needed, and staff should be treated courteously. Supportive measures are in place for any staff member that have been a victim of assault or abuse. This includes counselling and complimentary resilience courses, local debriefs and reviews where open discussions and honesty and transparency are encouraged. We also have an independent Freedom to Speak Up Guardian to raise concerns confidentially.

“In August 2024, WWL signed up to the NHS Violence Prevention Reduction Standards. A team of key WWL staff representing Security, Human Resources, Health and Safety, Estates and Facilities, and Governance are developing a robust action plan and revised policy to maintain these standards. We strongly encourage any staff member to report incidents and, when necessary and appropriate, involve Greater Manchester Police.”

Suzie Bailey, director of leadership and organisational development at The King's Fund, said: "The findings demonstrate that working in the health service continues to look like an unattractive career, with many NHS staff feeling undervalued and overstretched."

She added the upcoming refresh to the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan will be a chance for the Government to "reset how it plans to train, recruit and retain staff".

"This snapshot of the experience of NHS staff comes ahead of the Government publishing its plans to reform the service. Ministers will be relying on the NHS workforce to actually deliver much of its plans for improvement, and these results will be cause for concern," she said.

Across the country, levels of unwanted sexual behaviour from the public rose slightly to 8.8% and the proportion of staff experiencing discrimination from the public also increased to 9.3 per cent.

At WWL sites, 6.5 per cent of staff said they experienced unwanted sexual behaviour from the public, while 6.4 per cent experienced discrimination.

Danny Mortimer, chief executive of NHS Employers, said the survey shows improvement in many areas but added maintaining progress is important.

He added it is "distressing" that indicators on discrimination have worsened.

He said: "It remains of profound concern that the experience of black and minority ethnicity staff in the NHS is still poorer than for their white colleagues: the continued experience of racism in our workplaces is a stain on our aspiration to be better employers.

"It is also worrying to see that levels of unwanted sexual behaviour rose from the public but fell slightly from other staff. All staff should be able to work without fear of unwanted sexual behaviour, whether from colleagues or patients."

He added the worsened level of violence is also a concern, but noted the improvement in staff confidence in reporting the violence.

Of theWWL staff who experienced violence from the public or other staff, 71.7 per cent reported it.

Dr Navina Evans, chief workforce, training and education officer for NHS England, said: "It's totally unacceptable that NHS staff are facing physical violence, sexual assault and discrimination from patients and the public while at work – and I'd urge anyone affected to report incidents to their employer and the police.

"We know that the most important way to stamp out incidents of unacceptable behaviour is to give people the confidence to report it, and it is important that the voice of every member of NHS staff is heard through these surveys and acted upon."

She added the NHS sexual safety charter has been adopted by every NHS trust in England to enforce a zero-tolerance approach.