NHS staff face 'hundreds of assaults and threats every month'

Frontline NHS staff in Greater Glasgow and Clyde are facing an average of 354 violent and aggressive incidents and threats from the public each month, it has been revealed.

Staff across NHSGGC hospitals were subjected to 2479 assaults and threats between January and July 2021, with almost 100 attacks following in the first eight days of August.

Anne McPherson, the health board’s director of human resources and organisational development, said: “The Covid pandemic has been a challenging time for everyone and we continue to rely on the professionalism of all our doctors, nurses, allied health professionals, support staff across our acute, mental health and community settings to provide the best care and support.

“Our staff come to work to help people, support patients and their families, deliver vital care and save lives. All we ask is that visitors, patients and service users treat our staff with respect to allow us to continue to care for those needing medical attention in a safe and comfortable workspace.”

Dr Scott Davidson, NHSGGC’s deputy medical director – acute services, said: “While we understand the pressures the pandemic continues to bring to us all, we cannot have visitors or those attending hospital for treatment showing such a lack of respect towards our staff.

“Covid has had a massive impact on our clinical teams, who continue to provide an exceptional level of vital care and support to patients and their loved ones during such a challenging time.

“As we continue to battle the pandemic, manage emergency departments, continue care in other areas and prepare for winter, our staff should not have to come to work fearing that they will be subjected to violence and threats.

“We would like to thank the thousands of people who use our services and treat our exceptional staff with the respect they deserve. We urge the minority who behave in an aggressive or violent way to do the same.”