(AWARD)Review of work-based violence, harassment and abuse in the NHS and impact of the safety and wellbeing of our people - on behalf of NHS England / NHS Improvement

Background

The NHS People Plan 2020/21 was published in July, with a strong emphasis on 'Looking after our People' - including 23 commitments related to health and wellbeing. One of the NHS People Plan Promise's is that all our people feel supported, safe and secure at work.

"The safety and health of our people is paramount. Leaders across the NHS have a statutory duty of care to prevent and control violence in the workplace - in line with existing legislation - so that people never feel fearful or apprehensive about coming to work."

There is overwhelming evidence regarding the impact that violence, harassment and abuse can have on people's health and wellbeing, affecting mental and physical health. In the most tragic cases, this can result in loss of life or life-changing injuries and psychological issues. For others, it can lead to increased stress and anxiety levels, reduced confidence and resilience, and an impact on their families.

Research shows that staff who experience violence and aggression at work are four times more likely to take sick leave and are more inclined to leave the NHS. The pandemic has arguably compounded the risks of traumatisation for many people, including health care leaders and their teams. There is also an increasing body of evidence highlighting the impact

violence and abuse has on patient care.

Since NHS Protect was disbanded in 2016 there has been no national NHS wide data collection of incidents relating to violence, harassment and abuse against our NHS colleagues. The only sector that has continued to collect and report on an annual basis is the ambulance service.

Incident data is, however, still collected individually by Trusts but there is no mechanism currently to view and assess the data at a regional or national level to inform future planning, commissioning, and future interventions. A small scale incident data collection exercise conducted in 2021 examining local data held by a number of Trusts highlighted many inconsistencies and gaps around recording and naming conventions in relation to the reporting of incidents of violence, harassment and abuse in the workplace and potential causation factors.

The COVID pandemic has further heightened concerns around violence, harassment and abuse to staff in the workplace and a number of professional representative groups, associations and unions have been undertaking their own surveys and analysis to inform organisational responses. To date the findings from all these studies have not been brought together to be reviewed and assessed to understand the impact, nature and causation, where known, of violence, harassment and abuse against our colleagues.

2. Aim and Objectives of the review 2.1 Aim

The aim of the project is to better understand the nature, extent and impact of work-based violence, harassment and abuse to NHS staff across all healthcare settings, while identifying good practice in preventative approaches and responses that can inform future interventions.