More than a quarter (28.5%) of NHS staff experienced harassment, bullying or abuse from patients and members of the public over the past year.

According to the latest NHS Staff Survey figures (February 2020), almost one in seven (14.9%) experienced physical violence, rising to 34% among ambulance trust staff. Almost 40,000 of those who responded (7.2%) said they faced discrimination from patients and four in 10 staff have felt unwell due to work-related stress. 

In a letter sent to all NHS staff, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Matt Hancock, said: “We will not tolerate assaults, physical or verbal, against NHS colleagues ‒ staff or volunteers. You should not tolerate violence or abuse either. Being assaulted or abused is not part of your job.” 

The NHS staff survey is one of the largest workforce surveys in the world, with over 1.1m NHS employees invited to participate. Of these, 569,440 NHS staff responded from 300 separate organisations.  

NHS England: NHS staff morale improves but too many facing abuse
Gov.uk: Violence against NHS staff: letter to the workforce