Harassment remains endemic in the NHS

More than one in four NHS staff suffered harassment from patients or the relatives of patients during 2005, a rate only slightly below that recorded for 2004, new research finds.

The Healthcare Commission's 2005 NHS staff survey reveals that 26% of NHS employees experienced bullying, harassment or abuse from patients or their relatives during 2005. A further 12% were subject to physical violence from patients or their relatives. The equivalent figures for 2003 were 27% and 14%.

Elsewhere, the survey finds that 71% of staff worked extra hours during 2005, but only 36% reported that they regularly worked paid overtime.

  • Progress on violence against NHS employees is just the starting point    Personnel Today's Michael Millar looks at the key findings of the Healthcare Commission study.

  • Fewer NHS workers report violence and abuse from patients and relatives - NHS staff survey   Read the official press release on the survey findings, based on responses from some 209,124 NHS employees, as published on the Healthcare Commission website.

    Also

    Few NHS employers assess their stress risks    Only one-third of NHS employers carried out a stress risk assessment in the first half of 2005, according to research from NHS Employers.

    NHS Employers joins campaign against domestic violence    NHS Employers, the health service employers' organisation, has joined the Corporate Alliance Against Domestic Violence- a group of major UK employers aiming to fight domestic violence and reduce its impact on the workplace.

    Improving productivity in the NHS   The NHS is under great pressure to improve productivity from increased public investment and is undergoing a massive programme of change to achieve this.

    HR pushes workplace bullying up the agenda and Best practice on dealing with workplace bullying   Access XpertHR's extensive resources on dealing with workplace bullying and harassment.

    NHS Agenda for Change pay transfer nears completion   The roll-out of the NHS Agenda for Change (AfC) pay modernisation programme, the biggest job evaluation exercise ever undertaken, is nearly complete, with the vast majority of NHS staff having transferred over to their new pay band.