Sharp rise in attacks on A&E nurses

Not just A&E nurses - we have two nurses in the family, neither of whom work in A&E, but both have been attacked by patients on several occasions. On one occasion, the attack involved a patient with a knife and the nurse concerned is still suffering the effects of PTSD from that incident.

A family member was attacked twice over 25 years ago. Once by a male patient and once by a female. Both were serious attacks.
Another family member, different part of the UK was involved when the hospital ward they worked on was taken hostage by a gunman. Also,
over 25 years ago.

Attacks on firefighters and paramedics have also increased. Draconian, but if anyone getting violent in A and E should be removed and told they won't be treated - if they can't wait a few hours they should try thinking about people in this world without medical services, who have to walk for miles in a hope of help. That said, 'thinking' is clearly beyond them.

I was sexually assaulted whilst on duty……had to carry on with my shift despite alerting management and others on duty. Took months for the police to interview the offender……..he miraculously couldn’t remember……case closed!
This forced me into early retirement.

I spent a week in a men’s medical ward a couple of years ago with a family member with a severe learning disability who was too distressed to be left in hospital with strangers. I slept in a camp bed at his bedside in the ward and attended to his personal care and feeding etc.

The verbal and physical abuse those poor nurses were subjected to on a daily basis was shocking. Often the verbal abuse was from visitors.

On one particularly bad night it all kicked off in the early hours . The ward of 30 men was staffed by 3 young nurses. They were slapped and kicked by a patient. The man in the next bed to where it was happening yanked out his own IV drip to try to intervene although he was in no fit state to stand up.

Only when 2 security men appeared did the violent man calm down. The poor nurses took it in their stride and told me it’s a regular occurrence.

I was chatting to the ward sister in the morning. She said she was having dental treatment due to being punched by a patient.

My daughter is a nurse and has been slapped, pushed, kicked and on one occasion floored by a punch on the jaw by a patient. On most occasions it’s drug or alcohol related.

My Mum and I were both nurses. I hope neither of my granddaughters keep up the family tradition.

No doubt caused by drugs and alcohol.

My son - a teacher - was punched in the head by a student. My son is 6ft. 3in. The student was 6 ft.

One of the many reasons that I never worked as a staff nurse, after qualifying in the early 1970s, was the level of verbal abuse.

I am not just talking about the patients and visitors, who were particularly abusive in Casualty on a Friday or Saturday night. The 'old school' sisters and doctors could be pretty toxic too.

I was never physically attacked but I was threatened by a drug addict in my third year when they saw that I had the keys to the drug cupboard.

My admiration and respect for nurses who continue work under these conditions knows no bounds.

The nurse and nursing representative interviewed on the news this morning agreed that things have got worse since Covid.

GrannyGravy13

The nurse and nursing representative interviewed on the news this morning agreed that things have got worse since Covid.

I had hoped that the Covid experience with it's awful restrictions would make for a more tolerant society but it seems to have gone the other way and not just in the NHS.

I've never worked in the medical field other than what I've been doing for the past few years - working in a care home for the mentally and physically disabled - but on a few times when I've been in hospital or A&E, I've seen and heard some horrendous abuse from patients and visitors to various medics and orderlies.

The scumbags always miraculously ''can't remember'' and they always blame drink and drugs, but my opinion is that nobody FORCES them to be druggies/alcos, it's entirely their own choice! But even if they were literally being forced into it against their will, they still shouldn't go around being a rotter to others!

As a carer, I've been clobbered a couple of times, both times from those with physical disabilities; neither of them was mentally ill, they were just plain nasty and vicious, but I've got away lightly compared to various medics.

I've worked as a bus and coach driver, in restaurants/cafes and retail and have been verbally and physically abused a few times.

I ended up in A&E late one night when driving the bus, and this moron got on, and suddenly, within just seconds, he yanked out a glass bottle from his pocket and slashed it over my left arm. The pain was excruciating, and blood everywhere, but while the medics in A&E were all absolutely brilliant, I was even having a laugh with them, the police didn't want to know!

Sarnia

GrannyGravy13

The nurse and nursing representative interviewed on the news this morning agreed that things have got worse since Covid.

I had hoped that the Covid experience with it's awful restrictions would make for a more tolerant society but it seems to have gone the other way and not just in the NHS.

My opinion is that for some people/families the lockdowns were a time of cohesion and family time.

Unfortunately for those living alone, those with mental health issues and the disconnected the lockdowns were a time of isolation, virtual self imprisonment, irreparable damage has resulted.

GrannyGravy13

The nurse and nursing representative interviewed on the news this morning agreed that things have got worse since Covid.

No excuse for an attack obviously - but I bet a lot of people have seen those Tiktok videos of nurses dancing then and of empty wards then, etc.

That was just so unwise for all that time spent practicing dance routines and then putting out those videos of them doing so.....

I have had many different jobs during my long working life. One thing that I learned, very early on was that, although jobs that involved meeting the general public were generally more interesting and rewarding, a surprising number of people were rude and abusive. It now seems that physical abuse is becoming more common as well.

Magenta8

I have had many different jobs during my long working life. One thing that I learned, very early on was that, although jobs that involved meeting the general public were generally more interesting and rewarding, a surprising number of people were rude and abusive. It now seems that physical abuse is becoming more common as well.

I think that there is an emerging sub-set of our society that doesn’t see any reason to observe boundaries.

That’s shocking Astitchintime.

There was some information about mental health waits being longer than for other medical conditions released recently, and I think that is one of the major underlying contributors to the rise in violence against NHS staff, police and other public servants. A&E is the default ‘place of safety’, and patients are then transferred to wards to await psychiatric assessment. Ongoing care is very hard to access unless you pose a danger. Drug and alcohol use is often an escape from reality for people with mental health issues, and it exacerbates pre existing mental health issues too. Until access to support is dramatically improved the problems faced by staff are not going to go away.

I know that the old system of admitting people with a wide range of mental issues to inpatient care in an asylum, often indefinitely, was deeply flawed and open to abuse but the reality of 'care in the community' seems to be to make any sort of sustained treatment difficult or even impossible to find.

There have been numerous instances of harm and even murder, resulting from people with severe mental problems being free to roam untreated when they should have been receiving care and close supervision.

In some cases, if it’s drug or alcohol related, the aggression doesn’t surface till the patient has already passed through A&E and been admitted to the ward . Then the withdrawal symptoms rear their ugly head and it can turn nasty very quickly.

I remember one day at work my daughter found a patient standing on a chair in the visitors room. He’d pushed up a panel on the ceiling to retrieve a stash of drugs one of his visitors had concealed there earlier in the day.

Thinking about what Magenta said, maybe there is a case for reintroducing the asylum system, however abhorrent it might be to some people. There are some individuals who are, quite frankly, too dangerous to be allowed to roam free in the community. Look what happened to those lovely students in Nottingham. Then the Southport atrocity.

I used to work with community mental health nurses who were more than capable of identifying those who should be locked up and those who would only be a danger to themselves and not anyone else. Unfortunately, the powers that be were heavily influenced by what I consider to be "the do-gooders", who thought that all people with mental health issues or violent disorders should be part of the general community. Consequently nearly all of the residential institutions were closed down. How many innocent lives have been lost because of this ill-judged decision?

Care in the Community was simply a money-saving exercise: nothing to do with improved care.

I don’t think that’s true Grantanow. I think in the early days care in the community came from the right intentions, it was properly resourced, and there were enough hospital based services remaining to ensure that proper assessment and treatment facilities were available for those who needed inpatient care.

In the early days 'Care in the Community' was the big idea. I large local institution where I worked was 'reprovided'. Sadly it's all gone wrong. It's more like 'Don't care in the community'. Sad times.

Maybe like a lot of things, it went too far in the direction of everyone being in the community.
There is no doubt that we used to have a culture of disabled people and those whose moods were very changeable etc being conveniently kept apart fom the community at large, & no doubt that this was cruel for a lot of people who should have been able to lead a much fuller life.It also encouraged stigma towards disability and mental health in general.
However, whatever their right to a free existence, there are some people at certain times of their lives who require secure residential care. Ignoring this & pretending that everyone is OK in the community all the time with the right care, has led to a severe shortage of placements and not enough interest in what a "good" placement might look like.

I have sadly spent too much time visiting and accompanying people to our very large regional hospital.

I have been shocked at some of the sights I’ve seen so unfortunately I am not surprised that A and E nurses are being attacked.

We’ve seen countless people sitting outside smoking cigarettes and weed (some hooked up to drips) underneath large NO Smoking signs. They just don’t care about anybody.

I’ve seen staff and security guards keeping watch over a bay with druggies and alcoholics. I’ve heard abusive shouting and swearing.

It is just awful and I am sure it was never like this years ago. I was at A and E many times over the years with sports injuries and people just sat and waited their turn. You might see an odd drunk but staff would usually have a quiet word.

I feel sorry for nurses.