Violence reduction
The SPF is committed to bringing together employers and trade unions to discuss how we might work in partnership to prevent and reduce violence towards NHS staff.
We engage with NHS England's violence prevention and reduction team and other partners to influence and contribute to policy and resources, aiming to give employers knowledge and tools to provide safer workplaces and move away from a culture which sees violence as 'part of the job'.
Workplace violence impacts on staff health, wellbeing and retention; NHS services; and patient experience - preventing and reducing violence benefits everyone.
Violence Prevention and Reduction Standard
In December 2024, NHS England published a refreshed Violence Prevention and Reduction standard, updated from the previous 2021 version. The standard was developed with the SPF and encourages a public health, trauma informed approach to preventing and reducing violence, understanding the root causes to distress.
It delivers a risk-based framework that supports a safe and secure working environment for NHS staff, safeguarding them against abuse, aggression and violence. Employers can assess themselves across seven domains and use a red, amber, green rating to identify areas to action and measure progress over time.
Employers (including NHS employers) have a general duty of care to protect staff from threats and violence at work. The NHS Standard Contract states 'The provider must: use all reasonable endeavours to implement the NHS Violence Prevention and Reduction Standard.' We encourage all organisations to consult with trade union colleagues on the implementation of the refreshed standard and take the necessary steps to protect staff.
The old version of the standard is still available via NHSE's website. Guidance notes to be used in conjunction with the old version of the standard were published in June 2022.
Statement from the national SPF co-chairs
NHS staff should not have to suffer violence and abuse. Where it happens, it can have a serious impact on them physically and psychologically and can have a detrimental effect on the service they provide for patients.
The refreshed violence prevention and reduction standard is designed to support organisations to take the actions needed to keep their staff safe. The national Social Partnership Forum worked with NHS England on the original standard and in the development of the refreshed version.
We therefore endorse the standard and encourage NHS organisations to implement it fully to ensure your staff are provided with the protection and support they need. We recommend this work is carried out in partnership with your local trade union representatives who can help you implement the standard successfully.
Helga Pile, trade union chair of the national SPF and Danny Mortimer employer chair of the national SPF
Statistics on violence against NHS staff
The 2024 NHS Staff Survey found that:
- Around one in seven (14.38 per cent) of staff responding to the survey said they had experienced at least one incident of physical violence from patients, service users, their relatives or other members of the public in the last 12 months.
- Staff within ambulance trusts continue to report the highest levels of violence.
- On average, 25.08 per cent of respondents had experienced at least one incident of harassment, bullying or abuse from patients, service users, their relatives or other members of the public in the last 12 months.
- There has been a slight increase in reporting of violence at work overall, with 74.69 per cent of staff surveyed reporting violence in 2024, compared to 73.62 per cent in 2023.
The SPF set up the Violence Reduction Subgroup in 2019 to help prevent and reduce violence against NHS staff, creating a culture of safety to ensure our people are supported, safe and secure at work.
