By Thomas Maher
A local healthcare worker has warned that figures showing hundreds of assaults on staff across the Western Trust area represent only the ‘tip of the iceberg’, with many incidents going unreported due to flaws in the current reporting system.
Statistics released to DUP Assembly member Diane Dodds in response to a written Assembly question show that staff within the Western Health and Social Care Trust were physically assaulted 1,769 times and verbally abused 390 times during the 2024/25 financial year.
Over the past five years, more than 72,000 physical and verbal attacks on health and social care staff have been reported across Northern Ireland.
Within the Western Trust alone, 9,258 assaults were recorded during that period, with figures increasing year on year.
Andy McKane, chair of the Fermanagh and Omagh branch of Unison and a healthcare worker with more than 35 years’ experience, said the figures significantly understate the true scale of the problem.
“I have been verbally and physically assaulted numerous times during my career, and these figures do not reflect the reality on the ground,” he said.
Mr McKane said the time required to complete incident reports often discourages staff from recording every occurrence.
“It can take between 30 and 45 minutes to file a report. Staff simply don’t have the time to log every incident of verbal abuse,” he said. “If they did, it’s all they would be doing all day.”
He added that assaults are particularly prevalent in mental health and acute settings and warned that abuse is often wrongly viewed as ‘part of the job’.
“There should be a zero-tolerance approach. At present, the policy exists in name only and is not being properly enforced,” he said, calling for stronger action from the police and judiciary.
Health Minister Mike Nesbitt described the attacks as unacceptable and said violence against healthcare staff is taken ‘extremely seriously’.
He said the existing framework provides a clear approach to prevention, reporting and staff support, adding that creating a culture of zero tolerance requires sustained commitment.
Fermanagh and South Tyrone MP Pat Cullen has also condemned the attacks.
Ms Cullen, a registered nurse with over 40 years’ experience who went on to lead the Royal College of Nursing, said:
“It is shocking and totally unacceptable that anyone should experience such appalling treatment. Our health and social care staff go above and beyond for all of us every single day, and they represent the very best of our society.
“This will not and must not be tolerated. Everybody has the right to feel safe in their place of work and to be free from violence or intimidation.
“This behaviour is deplorable. It cannot be excused, and it must be dealt with through the courts.”
