Government warned of 'dangerous blind spot' over violent attacks on NHS staff

The Government has been accused of creating a “dangerous blind spot” over the scale of attacks on NHS staff after it revealed it no longer collects information on hospital assaults.

Ministers admitted for the first time that they will rely on an optional staff survey to tot up the number of attacks - a move branded “totally inadequate” by nursing leaders.

Physical assaults on NHS staff rose by 4 per cent from 67,864 in 2014/15 to 70,555 in 2015/16, according to NHS Protect, which collected data on attacks until it was quietly axed earlier this year.

One A&E nurse told The Independent that she had seen a colleague stabbed in the neck with a pair of scissors and on another occasion a drunk patient had torn out his IV drip and sprayed blood at nurses while screaming abuse.

It comes as MPs were set to debate plans for tougher sentences for attacks on all blue-light workers, which has received Government backing.

The backbench bill, brought by Labour MP Chris Bryant, would double the maximum sentence for attacks on emergency staff such as on-duty police, prison officers and firefighters from six months to a year.

Kim Sunley, from the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), said that relying on the NHS Staff Survey would make it difficult to measure the bill’s impact.

She said: “This creates a dangerous blind spot for ministers hoping to tackle the increasing number of assaults in the NHS. It is totally inadequate to rely on optional surveys, especially if the law is being tightened.

“The official body, before it was disbanded, warned Ministers the level of assaults was rising. It should not have been removed and the Government must take their role more seriously.

“This bill represents a vital step towards achieving that, but without the ability to fully monitor the figures, it will be difficult to quantify the scale of the problem, or the effectiveness of any new law.”

Her concern was echoed by Mr Bryant, whose private member’s bill will receive its second reading in the Commons on Friday.

The Rhondda MP told The Independent: “This doesn't fit with the government’s support for my bill.

“We can legislate as much as we want but if we can’t make hospitals and clinics a safe place to work and we don’t even check whether they are a safe place for people to work then we will let down our emergency workers.”

Nikki Williams, who has been an A&E nurse for eight years, said verbal abuse and assaults were commonplace but many NHS workers did not pursue justice because they believed the police would not take their complaint seriously.

She said: “These things happen all the time, not just at weekends.

“People sometimes say to me I have chosen this because I chose to work in A&E but nobody should expect to go to work and be abused all the time. It’s not right.”

The move was revealed by Health minister Philip Dunne in response to a parliamentary question.

A Government spokesperson said: "NHS staff work incredibly hard in a high-pressure environment - it is completely unacceptable for them to be subject to aggression or violence and employers should have no hesitation in involving the police.

"We continue to collect data on physical assaults against NHS staff through the annual NHS staff survey, with trusts also collecting data at a local level, and we are making crucial legal changes to ensure those who are violent face the full force of the law.”