Assaults on NHS staff in Dumfries and Galloway increase during pandemic
NHS staff in Dumfries and Galloway faced an increased risk of being assaulted as they battled to provide care during the pandemic.
Organisations representing NHS staff have warned of a growing tide of abuse in recent months, with patients taking out frustrations with long waits and delays on those who work for the health service.
New figures show 190 physical assaults were recorded against staff at NHS Dumfries and Galloway in 2020/21. That was up from 165 in the previous year.
The attacks happened at a time when the pandemic led to far fewer people attending hospitals - likely meaning the risk to staff increased last year.
The health board saw A&E attendances drop 31 percent in 2020/21, while inpatient and day cases fell 29 percent and new and returning outpatient attendances were down by 30 percent. Covid also meant restrictions on visitors.
There were 88 injuries to staff at the health board last year.
Leona Cameron, Royal College of Nursing national officer, commented on the figures.
She added: "It has to be taken seriously and staff should be reporting all of these incidents and employers should be taking every single report seriously. But these attacks do not happen in a vacuum and improved staffing levels, learning from incidents is a vital part of reducing the risk that too many health care staff run day in, day out."
In October, the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, Royal College of Nursing, British Medical Association, NHS Confederation, Royal College of Midwives and Unison issued a joint statement warning of increasing abuse and calling on government and media to be honest and transparent with the public about the pressures facing health and care services and the implications of that.
BMA council deputy chair and wellbeing lead Dr David Wrigley said that as well as addressing the systemic issues causing more pressures on the NHS and subsequent patient frustration, more immediate measures were also needed to ensure staff feel safe in their place of work.
He said: "Measures such as increasing the maximum sentence for physical assault against emergency workers and ensuring that verbal abuse against emergency workers carries a heavier punishment are needed.
"Additionally, the development of a comprehensive national violence reduction strategy must be implemented as soon as possible building on the existing National Violence Prevention and Reduction Standard, to support staff in all settings including both primary and secondary care."
The Scottish Government launched the Respect campaign last month, including posters and information for social media, aimed at addressing the issue of violence and aggression against health and social care staff.
The spokesperson added: "The general law of assault with penalties all the way up to life imprisonment can be used for attacks on hospital workers. There is also the Emergency Workers Act which includes a penalty of up to 12 months imprisonment which we extended to include GPs, doctors, nurses and midwives working in the community."