Nurses face assaults and verbal aggression at work every day

The shocking figures of five assaults on nursing staff per day in June were released to Sinn Féin’s health spokesperson David Cullinane. Stock picture

The Health and Safety Authority (HSA) has said it is establishing a new occupational health division, which comes amid calls for the watchdog to help tackle the number of healthcare workers being assaulted in their day-to-day duties.

Nurses are working in a “pressure cooker-type environment” which is leading to more assaults, and more must be done to protect them, the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation has said.

It comes after latest figures released to Sinn Féin’s health spokesperson David Cullinane showed that more than five  nurses were physically, verbally, or sexually assault a day in the month of June.

The INMO said that increased security is needed across all hospital campuses, and said that the State body which oversees health and safety at workplaces must do more.

The union’s general secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha said: “Nurses are facing the brunt of physical and verbal aggression in hospital. In some cases, our members are victims of career-ending assaults.” 

'There must be more inspections [and] prosecutions of employers who fail to keep staff safe,' said INMO leader Phil Ní Sheaghdha. File picture: Gareth Chaney/Collins

She said that “soothing words” would not cut it when it comes to supporting workers.

According to the HSE’s guidelines on workplace violence, employees exposed to such aggression should be provided with “sensitive and practical support to assist them to cope with the occurrence".

In April, the HSE was fined €23,000 on foot of an HSA investigation into a serious incident of violence at Our Lady’s Hospital in Navan in 2016. The HSE pleaded guilty at Trim Circuit Court to four breaches of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005.

Following on from such examples, the nurses’ union called for a separate unit within the HSA to address the issues.

“The Health and Safety Authority needs to play an enhanced role in tackling assaults of nurses,” Ms Ní Sheaghdha added: 

There must be more inspections, prosecutions of employers who fail to keep staff safe.

"There must be a dedicated division established within the HSA to deal directly with the health service. This is an ask the INMO has put directly to Government and the authority itself.” 

Of the 7,477 inspections made by the HSA in 2021, 446 of these were in health and social care settings.

The HSA said these inspections focused on occupational exposure to Covid-19, patient handling, slips, trips, and falls, as well as work-related violence and aggression.

In a statement, the HSA said it is in the process to establishing a “new occupational health division to give further weight to this important area”.

“The Authority will continue to emphasise the need to address occupational health hazards across all industry sectors, including those associated with violence and aggression, psychosocial and ergonomic risks, and exposure to chemical and biological agents,” it said.

“The Authority will continue to devote significant resources to working collaboratively with workers and employers, on an individual basis and via the organisations that represent them.”