- See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred Source
A&E staff face violence and aggression on a daily or weekly basis with some workers kicked and racially abused, health leaders have revealed.
asserted
leaders → see → basis
The Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) warned the crisis has become 'normalised' and is being fuelled by long waits for care and a shortage of staff.
asserted
crisis → warn → staff
In most instances workers say their NHS trust failed to take meaningful action against the perpetrators, leaving staff feeling unsafe and 'expecting' to be attacked or intimidated as a matter of course.
asserted
trust → say → course
It has forced victims to take time off work to recover from their physical and mental scars and led 'far too many' to quit, unions add.
asserted
unions → force → many
The RCEM surveyed 2,126 workers in emergency departments and found 96 per cent have experienced violence or aggression from patients or other members of the public.
asserted
cent → survey → public
Some 73 per cent said this happened weekly or even daily, and two thirds said the incidents involved discrimination against them.
asserted
incidents → say → them
One resident doctor, speaking anonymously, said: 'Working in the emergency department, you brace yourself for a lot, but nothing truly prepares you for direct, hateful verbal abuse, especially when it's racially charged.'
asserted
it → speak → abuse
A consultant also told how they had been kicked in the face by an aggressive patient lying on a trolley.
asserted
they → tell → trolley
In most instances workers say their NHS trust failed to take meaningful action against the perpetrators, leaving staff feeling unsafe and 'expecting' to be attacked or intimidated as a matter of course.
asserted
trust → say → course
Fewer than one in 20 staff surveyed (4 per cent) said they always felt safe working in emergency departments, while 57 per cent felt safe most of the time.
asserted
cent → survey → time
Just 41 per cent of staff who made a report said their NHS trust took meaningful action.
asserted
trust → make → action
Launching the RCEM's new Safe to Care campaign, its president Dr Ian Higginson said: 'No-one should go to work fearing – or, worse, expecting – to be attacked, intimidated or abused.
'
asserted
one → launch → work
Nor should they lack confidence that their employers have their backs, or that the judicial system will kick in.
'Yet, that's the reality faced by the majority of my colleagues in emergency departments across the country.
asserted
that → lack → country
They often do not feel safe to care for patients.
asserted
They → feel → patients
It is an appalling state of affairs which is contributing towards many people seriously considering whether emergency medicine – or even healthcare in general – is for them.
asserted
medicine → contribute → them
'Tackling violence and aggression is crucial for the wellbeing of staff, whose dedication to the NHS is all too frequently being repaid in kicks, punches and abhorrent verbal abuse.
asserted
dedication → tackle → kicks
We know that long waits and crowding are key drivers of this, but that is not the fault of staff – that's on our governments.
asserted
that → know → governments
It's time staff received the respect and safety they deserve.'
asserted
they → receive → respect
In the survey, staff said the issue was made worse by long waiting times (90 per cent), overcrowding (85 per cent), staff shortages and corridor care (both 65 per cent).
asserted
issue → say → times
More than one in four patients waited more than four hours to be admitted, transferred or discharged after attending A&E in July, the latest figures show.
asserted
figures → wait → July
Dr Catherine Hayhurst, co-chair of the RCEM quality in emergency care committee, said: 'Some of the stories that our members have told the campaign so far have been heartbreaking – but not surprising.
'
asserted
members → say → campaign
Anyone who works in emergency departments knows that violence and aggression towards healthcare staff has become normalised.
asserted
violence → work → staff
'That must end and we call on policymakers and NHS leaders to help us make emergency departments a safer place for staff.'
asserted
departments → end → staff
Dr Den Langhor, from the British Medical Association, said: 'Extremely long waits and overcrowded A&Es can cause huge frustration for patients, but that can never justify abuse or intimidation of staff.
'
asserted
that → say → staff
The new NHS staff standards introduced this summer mean employers are now accountable for tackling such violence against staff - and these stark figures show there is a long way to go.
asserted
figures → introduce → staff
'Hospital trusts must take urgent, meaningful action to create the safe working environment all staff are entitled to.'
asserted
staff → take → environment
Professor Nicola Ranger, general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, said: 'These figures are profoundly shocking and show the torrent of abuse that health workers face.
asserted
workers → say → that
We know the NHS is becoming a more dangerous place to work, and this falls especially hard on female dominated professions like nursing.
asserted
this → know → 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.'
asserted
that → force → attacks
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: 'Any acts of violence, abuse or harassment towards NHS staff are completely unacceptable and will not be tolerated.
asserted
acts → say → staff
'Everyone working in our national health service has a fundamental right to be safe at work, and it is deeply concerning that so many emergency department staff continue to experience this behaviour.
asserted
staff → work → behaviour
'That is why this government recently introduced new NHS staff standards, which set out the steps that every NHS employer across the country must take to prevent and reduce violence and abuse against their staff and help ensure they can do their jobs safely.'
asserted
they → introduce → jobs
The Aporia
