Health and Social Care Secretary, Wes Streeting (pictured), has announced what he dubbed ‘a comprehensive support package to tackle violence and improve the working lives of NHS staff’.
The measures are part of a range of recommendations accepted by the government under the Agenda for Change contract – which covers over a million frontline NHS workers – following the agreement of the 2023 pay deal. The Department of Health and Social Care says violence against healthcare workers ‘has become a critical issue’, with the 2024 NHS Staff Survey revealing that one in 7 experienced physical violence from patients, their relatives, or other members of the public. A quarter of NHS staff experienced at least one incident of harassment, bullying, or abuse, in the last 12 months. The DHSC adds that many incidents currently go unreported, ‘hampering efforts to address the problem systematically’.
New measures will be put in place to encourage staff to report incidents of violence or aggression towards them, and make it mandatory for the reports to be collected at national level. Data will also be analysed to better understand if certain staff groups – whether by race, gender, disability status, or role – face disproportionate risks, allowing NHS Trusts to protect the most vulnerable workers.
In a keynote speech to Unison’s National Health Care Service Group Conference in Liverpool, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Wes Streeting, said: “No one should go to work fearing violence, yet one in every 7 people employed by the NHS have suffered violence at the hands of patients, their relatives, or other members of the public. Protecting staff from violence is not an optional extra; we’re making it mandatory. Zero tolerance for violence and harassment of NHS staff. It’s a commitment to make sure healthcare workers can focus on saving lives without fear for their own safety.”
The package of measures will also address ‘longstanding issues around ensuring staff are paid correctly for the work they deliver’. Staff being routinely required to work beyond their job description with no compensation has led to a number of local disputes, such as those relating to clinical support worker roles in the Midlands at Kettering General Hospital, and University Hospitals of Leicester.
The Department of Health and Social Care is working closely with NHS England, NHS Employers, and the Staff Council, to implement a national digital system to support the fair and consistent application of the Job Evaluation Scheme. The Department says this will ensure that staff are placed in the appropriate pay band, ‘recognising the skills and knowledge required for the role’.
Further measures include:
- enhanced career progression support for nurses such as more learning and development, leadership training, and career coaching for managers.
- new guidance for employers on how to recognise overseas experience on appointment into the NHS, and share best practice on recruitment and selection processes.
- steps ‘to reduce reliance on expensive agency workers’, by making it easier for NHS staff to take up flexible working and developing good practice guidance on working patterns for existing staff.
- encouraging six-month career reviews tailored specifically for ethnic minority nurses to identify progression pathways and provide targeted interview preparation support.
