25 November 2011
Figures released recently (10 November 2011) reveal physical assaults against staff at Epsom, St Helier and Sutton hospitals have risen in the last year.
There were 110 physical assaults in the hospitals during 2010-11, compared to 96 in 2009-10, a rise of 14%.
To enable comparisons across the UK between hospitals of different sizes, the results are broken down into assaults per thousand staff. For every 1,000 staff working at Epsom, St Helier and Sutton hospitals, there were 26 assaults during 2010-11 compared to a national average of 17.
Chief Executive Matthew Hopkins said: "Our staff are here to help people, not to be abused, whether physically or verbally.
"Physical assaults on NHS staff should not happen at all. It's that simple. Our doctors, nurses, receptionists, and other support staff work incredibly hard to give people the best care that they can.
"The idea that some people who come into our hospitals seeking our help find it acceptable to assault our staff is disgraceful. It saddens me deeply."
Julie Mulligan is a sister in A&E at St Helier Hospital and has worked in the department for 10 years. Julie said: "People who come to A&E are sometimes scared, anxious, or distressed. Sadly, verbal abuse is a weekly occurrence – it shouldn't be, but it's almost part and parcel of working in the department.
"But absolutely nobody comes to work to be physically abused, and no-one has the right to assault us. I've been punched, kicked and thrown against a wall – but I'm a nurse, I'm here to help people. That's all we want to do."
Matthew added: "We want all our staff to feel completely safe in their job, every single minute of the day. We support them in a number of ways, from free counselling to special training, but the responsibility for any violence or abuse is with the person who commits it.
"That's why we have a zero tolerance approach to violence and aggression against our staff and we will not hesitate to involve the police and push for prosecutions."
