NHS board hit by staff attacks rise

Mar 11 2013

Assaults on NHS staff increased seven-fold in a health board area, figures have shown.

Reported incidents in Lothian, which covers Edinburgh, grew annually from 274 in 2009 to 1,888 last year.

Others recording an upward trend were NHS Tayside, where incidents went from 703 to 744, and NHS Western Isles, where assaults increased from 19 to 93.

The figures are falling overall across the country and more people are being convicted under legislation aimed at tackling the problem, the Scottish Government said.

Figures decreased over four years in Ayrshire and Arran, Borders, Dumfries and Galloway, Forth Valley, Grampian, Highland and in Orkney.

In Greater Glasgow and Clyde, the figure increased from 4,632 in the financial year 2009-10 to an estimated 5,393 by the end of this financial year, after dropping last year.

They also fluctuated in Fife, growing from 702 in 2009-10 to an estimated 840 last year, after a drop in 2010-11. In Shetland, the figure was broadly the same over four years at about 30.

A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: "The number of attacks against staff is falling and more people than ever before are being convicted under the Emergency Workers (Scotland) Act 2005 with the penalty up to 12 months imprisonment, a £10,000 fine or both.

"However, any attack is unacceptable. Our NHS staff should absolutely be safe in their jobs and no-one should receive abuse at work.

"Violence against NHS staff is taken very seriously and we will continue to do all we can to prevent it."