Nurses facing ‘abhorrent’ violence levels while in A&E

Nurses are facing “abhorrent” levels of violence in A&E departments including being punched, spat at and even having a gun pointed at one of them.

And long waits in A&E are also leading to anger among patients who are not prone to violence, the nursing union said.

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) said more must be done to protect NHS staff.

One nursing leader said the issue of violence in A&E seems to be specific to the UK and she said that nurses are “expected to tolerate it”.

It comes after the RCN found rising rates of violence towards staff after sending freedom of information (FOI) requests to NHS hospitals in England with accident and emergency departments.

Figures from 89 hospital trusts, out of a possible 129, revealed there were 4,054 cases of physical violence against A&E staff recorded in 2024, up from 2,093 in 2019, the RCN said.

A senior charge nurse from the East Midlands, Rachelle McCarthy, told the RCN that “even patients you would expect to be placid are becoming irate because of just how long they have to wait”.

“You can only imagine the behaviour of those who are already prone to violence,” she added.

Ms McCarthy also told the union she was punched “square in the face” by a “drunk, six foot two bloke”.

And she told Good Morning Britain: “It was fuelled by drugs and alcohol, and the male that did it was attempting to punch a security guard, but he hit me instead. It was a full punch.

“He was arrested but there were no charges.”

RCN general secretary and chief executive Professor Nicola Ranger added: “We have lots of posters up and we use the language ‘zero tolerance’ but actually it’s become a little bit meaningless for many staff because we do tolerate it and nurses are expected to tolerate it.

“I do think we have got to do more in that space to say actually ‘enough is enough’.”

Another nurse said: “It’s not going to help with our retention and recruitment if you think you’re going to be clobbered every shift.”

Sarah Tappy, a senior sister in an A&E in east London, was knocked unconscious after being punched in the head by a patient.

“The violence is awful,” she said. “And it’s just constant. Nurses, doctors, receptionists – none of us feels safe.”

One senior A&E nurse based in east London told the RCN she has seen colleagues punched and kicked and described how a colleague had a gun pointed at them.

She herself had been spat at by a patient and threatened with an acid attack.

Prof Ranger told Good Morning Britain: “There’s a general incivility that we’re seeing in day-to-day life.

“But I think particularly since Covid, we know that waiting times in A&E have gone up significantly.”

She went on: “A key nursing skill is being able to de-escalate… most people don’t become violent and aggressive as a switch. They build up.

“But if you’ve got too many patients in the wrong place, and people are fuelled by fear, it becomes a really hard place to be able to de-escalate.”

She said violence against A&E staff “feels like a particular problem here in the UK”.

In a statement she went on: “Measures to keep staff safe day-to-day are crucial, but the stark reality is that unless the Government does something about lengthy waits, corridor care and understaffed nursing teams, more nursing staff will become victims of this utterly abhorrent behaviour.”

Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting said: “I am appalled by these findings.

“Nurses dedicate their lives to helping others and deserve to go about their jobs free from violence or intimidation.

“Anyone who violates this core principle will feel the full force of the law.”

Speaking in the Isle of Wight, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch told broadcasters: “Nurses do a fantastic job in our country. They need to be protected.

“They should not be facing that kind of abuse.

“But what we are seeing is a lack of enforcement.

“We need people who carry out these sorts of crimes to be punished, and instead what we’re seeing is prisoners being released early.”