Over 10 nurses assaulted each day - INMO

The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) has highlighted that at least ten nurses are assaulted daily.

Violence and aggression against nurses and midwives is not a new phenomenon and is one the INMO has been campaigning on for many years on behalf of our members. Over 63% of all incidents of assault that occur against HSE workers are levelled against nurses and midwives. Between January 2021 and October 2022, there were 5,593 reported assaults against nursing and midwifery staff.

Phil Ní Sheaghdha, Joint Committee on Health on the Welfare and Safety of Workers in the Public Health Service said: Violence and aggression against nurses and midwives is not a new phenomenon and is one the INMO has been campaigning on for many years on behalf of our members. Over 63% of all incidents of assault that occur against HSE workers are levelled against nurses and midwives. Between January 2021 and October 2022, there were 5,593 reported assaults against nursing and midwifery staff.

According to data from the Health and Safety Authority, HSE staff reported 4,796 workplace related physical, verbal, and sexual assaults in 2021, yet only 446 investigations and inspections took place (HSA, 2021).

Mr Ní Sheaghdha added: "The HSA’s legislative role under the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 is to protect workers and those affected by a work activity from occupational injury and illness. The increasing assaults, burnout, and occupational infections cannot be ignored and resourcing the HSA must be prioritised to underpin improvements in the environments of work for healthcare workers.

"The INMO is again repeating our call for a full review and audit of security systems and protocols in Irish hospitals. An audit has not been completed since 2016, and as recent tragic events in the Mercy Hospital have shown, it is time to rectify this situation."

"The health, safety and wellbeing of nurses and midwives directly impact the ability of healthcare employers to recruit and retain staff. As consistently outlined by the INMO, there is a critical recruitment and retention problem within the Irish health system. The continued lack of a multi annual funded workforce plan incorporating robust recruitment and retention strategies contributes to problems already evident due to the baseline shortage," Mr Ní Sheaghdha concluded.

Speaking at the Oireachtas Health Committee addressing workplace assault, Sylvia Chambers, a working paediatric nurse said:

“I can say I have never experienced aggression like we have in the past few years, particularly on a daily basis. There are a numerous of incidents where we are verbally attacked, I have been spat at. I have been verbally abused. I have been threatened that when I leave work that evening, I will be stabbed as I get into my car. I have had grown man six foot four towering over me throwing objects at me. It is a daily occurrence and I do not feel safe going to work.

Ms Chambers continued: “I don't feel safe. My colleagues don't feel safe. This all comes down to security. This comes down to overcrowding. At night-time from 2am onwards we only have two doctors. Sometimes, we could have up to 6,070 patients waiting at that time. With two doctors it's not feasible for two doctors to see all both patients and parents become very aggressive. It's just not appropriate and we cannot provide appropriate nursing care.

“Staff are leaving in bulk because they are stressed. In the last 18 months we've had 30 nurses resign from our emergency department. We are on our knees when it comes to our staffing levels. We had 24 overnight patients to two nurses providing care. If you are abused, verbally abused by a parent you have to provide repeated care episodes to that parent. It is extremely nerve racking. We are at our wits’ end. People are leaving because of this and something has to be done.

Ms Chambers concluded: "Physical and verbal attacks on nursing staff are making staff overwhelmed. On exit interviews people tell us that are leaving and it is because they are stressed they are afraid of work and they cannot provide the appropriate care. We just want to go in and do our job. That's all we want. We don't mind being busy. We don't want to take the volume and the abuse.”