Six out of 10 Nurses Verbally Abused
Thu 12 Jan, 2012Six out of 10 nurses who visit patients in homes verbally abused in past two years
Royal College of Nursing survey finds that 11% of respondants had also been physically attacked.
Six out of every 10 nurses who visit patients in their own homes have been verbally abused during their work in the past two years and 11% have been assulted, a survey reveals.
While 57% of respondants in the Royal College of Nursing's poll said the risk of verbal or pyhsical abuse for lone workers was the same as two years ago, 38.5% felt it had risen.
Growing caseloads and increasing substance abuse by patients were among reasons cited by those nurses.
About 100,000 NHS staff work as lone professionals and 40,000 have been given lone worker alarms that alaert a call centre in case of abuse, which can then record through the alarm's microphone and call the police if necessary.
The care services minister, Paul Burstow, said "Violence and aggression against NHS staff is totally unacceptable" and that the NHS should work with the police and Crown Prosecution Service to ensure offenders are conviicted.
RCN chief executive Dr Peter Carter was "utterly appauled that nurses continue to be subjected to violence".
