MORE than nine in 10 nurses and midwives have experienced physical violence at work, new research found today. 

A survey by Unison and Nursing Times of more than 1,000 nursing and midwifery staff and students uncovered shocking levels of abuse, with NHS workers being punched, bitten, spat at, choked, headbutted and even stabbed.

For 9 per cent of respondents, violence was a daily occurrence.

Incidents included a nurse being stabbed in the neck and stomach, punched and having their teeth knocked out, and another nurse being threatened with a gun.

Most of those surveyed — 93 per cent — said they had experienced physical violence at some point in the workplace.

Almost nine in 10 reported that the incidents involved patients. Nineteen per cent said they had been victims of attacks by patients’ families or other visitors. 

Sixty-one per cent attributed the attacks to mental health issues, while 53 per cent cited cognitive impairment as a contributing factor.

Staff shortages were cited as aggravating factors by more than two in five.

Over a quarter said that treating patients in inappropriate settings — such as hospital corridors, or in acute hospitals when mental health care was needed — was partly to blame. One in five said lengthy patient waiting times contributed to the attacks.

Out of non-white staff, 44 per cent said race was a factor.

Unison warns the abuse is adding to the workforce crisis, driving staff out of the NHS. 

A third of the staff needed to take time off work after suffering physical violence on a shift. A fifth moved to a different role in healthcare.

Three in five had thought about quitting nursing or midwifery altogether over concerns about violence, but 69 per cent of respondents felt their employer failed to take the issue seriously.

Unison general secretary Christina McAnea said: “Not all patients are capable of controlling their actions, but those that are, and who’ve been violent, must face the consequences of harming NHS workers.

“Employers have a legal duty to protect staff from any risk to their health or safety at work, and must do more. 

“A dramatic cultural shift is needed in the NHS or the service will keep losing experienced people who’ve simply had enough.”

The Department of Health was contacted for comment.