Over 5,500 assaults against nurses and midwives were reported between January 2021 and October 2022, the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) has highlighted.

Speaking at the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health on the Welfare and Safety of Workers in the Public Health Service this week, INMO general secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha said that almost two-thirds of all assaults that occur against HSE workers involve nurses and midwives.

“Between January 2021 and October 2022, there were 5,593 reported assaults against nursing and midwifery staff. We know that this figure does not include assaults against nurses and midwives in Section 38 facilities. We also know that many nurses and midwives don’t report incidents of assault. It is not acceptable that in a profession that is overwhelmingly made up of women, at least 10 assaults occur every single day,” she told the committee.

She said that employers must take a preventative approach to protect those exposed to violence in the workplace in accordance with the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005. Where an employer has failed in their duty under this Act resulting in the injury of a worker, “they should be subject to prosecution”, she insisted.

“According to data from the Health and Safety Authority (HSA), HSE staff reported 4,796 workplace-related physical, verbal and sexual assaults in 2021, yet only 446 investigations and inspections took place. These statistics cannot be ignored and urgent action is required,” Ms Ní Sheaghdha said.

She pointed out that the HSA’s legislative role under the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 is to protect workers and those affected by a work activity from occupational injury and illness.

“The increasing assaults, burnout and occupational infections cannot be ignored and resourcing the HSA must be prioritised to underpin improvements in the environments of work for healthcare workers.

“The HSA has a duty to inspect workplaces and ensure that all measures are in place to provide a safe environment for employees. This is not being adhered to in the vast majority of hospitals and the HSA must be supported to increase its presence in these workplaces,” she said.

She also called on the HSE to tackle this issue “head on”.

“The INMO is again repeating our call for a full review and audit of security systems and protocols in Irish hospitals. An audit has not been completed since 2016,” she noted.

She added that the health, safety and wellbeing of nurses and midwives directly impacts the ability of healthcare employers to recruit and retain staff.

“The continued lack of a multi-annual funded workforce plan incorporating robust recruitment and retention strategies contributes to problems already evident due to the baseline shortage. To retain and attract new entrants into the professions, it is essential to consider how the current environment can affect retention and recruitment and the intention to leave,” she said.

Also speaking at the Oireachtas Heath Committee, paediatric nurse, Sylvia Chambers, emphasised that she and her colleagues do not feel safe.

“I can say I have never experienced aggression like we have in the past few years, particularly on a daily basis. I have been spat at. I have been verbally abused. I have been threatened that when I leave work that evening, I will be stabbed as I get into my car. I have had a grown man six foot four towering over me throwing objects at me. It is a daily occurrence and I do not feel safe going to work,” she explained.

She pointed out that staff “are leaving in bulk because they are stressed”. In the last 18 months alone, 30 nurses have resigned from her hospital’s emergency department.

“We are on our knees when it comes to our staffing levels. If you are abused by a parent you have to provide repeated care episodes to that parent. It is extremely nerve-racking. People are leaving because of this and something has to be done,” she added.