NHS staff are being bullied, abused, and intimidated on a daily basis while trying to do their jobs. It's not something that comes with working in A&E, Hugo said after being verbally abused by a drunk patient who used homophobic slurs.
The reality is far from ideal. For over two decades now, a campaign has been running to tackle violence and abuse but the hospital still sees too few staff willing to report incidents of abuse or violence, despite experiencing harassment, bullying, or abuse themselves.
It was only recently that NHS staff were encouraged to come forward about the abuse they are subjected to in order to change the culture at Great Western Hospital (GWH). Darin Pearson, a deputy divisional director of nursing and chair of the Never OK working group stated, "We come to work to do our jobs and look after people, and we do that well. Nobody should have to experience or tolerate these behaviours."
One in three staff members reported being subjected to verbal aggression, physical violence, or even sexual assault while on the job. However, the main problem is cultural acceptance of abuse which makes many GWH staff unaware when they are victims.
Wiltshire police has developed a training course for hospital staff that will help them identify offences and support victims of violence, harassment, and abuse. They want to encourage staff to report incidents without fear, in order to change their culture.
In response to the issue with patient safety and wellbeing being compromised by abuse, Great Western Hospital recently launched an action plan to encourage reporting, ensure support for victims, and learn from incidents. The seven-point plan will provide immediate support for victims, capture essential facts, encourage staff to report behaviour on behalf of patients, and offer a dedicated email address where colleagues can find the formal reporting system too burdensome.
"We want to see higher reporting numbers," said Sue Morgan, associate director of health and safety at GWH. "We know the level of abuse is probably fairly constant, but we want to change the culture so everyone finds it easier to tell us about it."
Unfortunately, this was a reality for many NHS staff that had been subjected to abuse on the job. It seems like no matter where people work, verbal and physical violence, sexual harassment and intimidation seem more prevalent now than ever before, especially in areas where patients may be sick or vulnerable, such as an A&E department.
The reality is far from ideal. For over two decades now, a campaign has been running to tackle violence and abuse but the hospital still sees too few staff willing to report incidents of abuse or violence, despite experiencing harassment, bullying, or abuse themselves.
It was only recently that NHS staff were encouraged to come forward about the abuse they are subjected to in order to change the culture at Great Western Hospital (GWH). Darin Pearson, a deputy divisional director of nursing and chair of the Never OK working group stated, "We come to work to do our jobs and look after people, and we do that well. Nobody should have to experience or tolerate these behaviours."
One in three staff members reported being subjected to verbal aggression, physical violence, or even sexual assault while on the job. However, the main problem is cultural acceptance of abuse which makes many GWH staff unaware when they are victims.
Wiltshire police has developed a training course for hospital staff that will help them identify offences and support victims of violence, harassment, and abuse. They want to encourage staff to report incidents without fear, in order to change their culture.
In response to the issue with patient safety and wellbeing being compromised by abuse, Great Western Hospital recently launched an action plan to encourage reporting, ensure support for victims, and learn from incidents. The seven-point plan will provide immediate support for victims, capture essential facts, encourage staff to report behaviour on behalf of patients, and offer a dedicated email address where colleagues can find the formal reporting system too burdensome.
"We want to see higher reporting numbers," said Sue Morgan, associate director of health and safety at GWH. "We know the level of abuse is probably fairly constant, but we want to change the culture so everyone finds it easier to tell us about it."
Unfortunately, this was a reality for many NHS staff that had been subjected to abuse on the job. It seems like no matter where people work, verbal and physical violence, sexual harassment and intimidation seem more prevalent now than ever before, especially in areas where patients may be sick or vulnerable, such as an A&E department.
come on, a one in three staff members thing sounds pretty sketchy to me... have we got any stats or studies to back this up? it's easy for hospitals to say "oh no, our staff is being bullied and abused" but where are the actual numbers? and what kind of training are they getting to deal with these situations? 
also, i'm not convinced that just launching an action plan with a few tweaks is gonna solve this problem... what's the follow-up on this? how many cases have been reported since the plan was launched? 
I'm so frustrated when I see this happen to our NHS heroes! They're just trying to do their job and help people, but they have to deal with all this crap from patients and colleagues alike. It's unacceptable that one in three staff members are being subjected to verbal aggression, physical violence, or even sexual assault on the job. 
We need to create a culture where reporting incidents of abuse isn't seen as a problem, but as a necessary step to keep everyone safe. That training course for hospital staff sounds like a great start! 
It's unacceptable that staff are being bullied, abused, and intimidated on the job while trying to do their thing 
. It's like they're too scared or ashamed or whatever 
. And the stats are just wild - one in three staff members reporting verbal aggression, physical violence, or sexual assault 
. We need to do better, fam 
.
! NHS staff are literally putting their lives on the line every day just to do their job and help people. It's like they're expected to have a PhD in conflict resolution too 
. I mean, who does that kind of abuse? And it's not just one or two incidents, it's like a daily norm for some staff members 
. The fact that only one in three staff are reporting these incidents is just staggering 
. We need to do better as a society, we need to teach our kids about respect and kindness from a young age 
. And what's even more concerning is that the culture of acceptance around abuse is still prevalent in some hospitals 
. It's like, no one wants to rock the boat or speak up because they don't want to get reported themselves 
. But we can't just sit back and let this happen 
. We need to support our NHS staff and create a culture of zero tolerance for abuse 
.
We need to create a culture where reporting abuse is encouraged, supported, and normalized. Anything less is just unacceptable 
. we need real action and accountability to start tackling this issue head-on.
. we need to see some serious changes, like increased support for victims, more severe consequences for perpetrators, and a culture shift that prioritizes respect and empathy over all else 
. They're just trying to do their best for patients, and yet they're being bullied and intimidated by some people who are clearly out of touch with reality.
. Some staff members don't even know when they're being abused because they've grown up in an environment where this kind of behavior is normalized.
.
just saw this article about NHS staff being bullied and abused on the job...it's getting out of hand 
. It's insane that they're not reporting incidents more often because of fear of repercussions 
It's not rocket science 
. We need to make reporting incidents easier and create a safe space for staff to do so 
. Who thought it was okay for patients to abuse healthcare workers in the first place? 
. 