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A Royal College of Nursing FOI reveals recorded physical assaults on London A&E staff rose to 4,054 in 2024 from 2,093 in 2019, with nurses reporting punches, threats and weapons. Unions warn chronic staffing shortages and long waits are driving the surge and say security measures alone will not protect staff without urgent investment in workforce and patient flow.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
London\u2019s emergency departments are facing a startling rise in violence against staff, driven, nurses and unions say, by mounting pressure on services and chronic workforce shortages. According to a Royal College of Nursing (RCN) freedom of information inquiry reported in the Evening Standard and other outlets, recorded physical assaults on A&E staff almost doubled between 2019 and 2024, with frontline workers describing a catalogue of terrifying incidents. <\/p>\n
The RCN\u2019s FOI found 4,054 recorded physical attacks on A&E staff in 2024, up from 2,093 in 2019 across 89 trusts, figures that have prompted alarm among unions and hospital managers. Industry reporting and union statements have used those figures to argue that the problem is both widespread and worsening, with more staff now saying they face violence at work than several years ago. <\/p>\n
Nurses\u2019 testimony relayed in multiple reports paints a distressing picture: staff have been punched, spat at, kicked, threatened with acid, had guns pointed at them and in some cases been knocked unconscious while trying to treat patients. The accounts \u2014 drawn from union surveys and interviews \u2014 have been used by the RCN to underline the human cost behind the statistics and to press for urgent protective measures. <\/p>\n
The RCN and several news investigations link the surge in assaults to systemic pressures: long waits in A&E, patients cared for in corridors, and sustained staffing shortfalls that leave services overstretched. The college\u2019s position statement on work\u2011related violence urges employers and the state to treat such attacks as an occupational hazard that must be prevented and mitigated through better staffing, tailored safety measures for different settings, and robust reporting and support systems. <\/p>\n
Political figures have responded with strong condemnation. Health Secretary Wes Streeting said he was \u201cappalled\u201d, according to media reporting, and opposition politicians also demanded action. The party\u2019s health spokesperson Helen Morgan said: \u201cViolence against hospital staff is utterly abhorrent and those committing it should feel the full force of the law,\u201d adding that hospital staff often work \u201cunder incredibly difficult conditions to look after us when we are most in need.\u201d <\/p>\n
NHS England has acknowledged the scale of the problem: its 2024 staff survey shows one in seven NHS workers experienced physical violence from patients, relatives or members of the public, and the organisation recently announced plans to collect national incident data, make reporting mandatory, analyse risk by staff group and require trust boards to report progress on staff safety. Suggested frontline measures being discussed in government and hospital circles include enhanced security training, better access to emotional and practical support for victims, and technological alarms such as panic buttons to summon assistance more quickly. The RCN, however, warns that security measures alone will not stop violence if waiting times and staffing pressures are not tackled in tandem. <\/p>\n
Unions and professional bodies say the stakes are high: rising violence risks staff retention, morale and ultimately patient safety. They argue that without meaningful investment in workforce numbers and urgent improvements to service flow, short\u2011term protective measures may prove insufficient and the broader aims of NHS reform could be undermined. Employers, regulators and ministers now face competing demands to deliver both immediate protection for staff and the longer\u2011term fixes \u2014 staffing, capacity and reporting culture \u2014 that unions say are essential to reverse the trend. <\/p>\n