By Joshua Robinson – 

Yorkshire NHS Trusts have paid out more than £570K in compensation for staff assault legal claims lodged against them in the last five years, a new investigation has revealed.

Data obtained by Legal Expert shows that NHS Trusts across South and West Yorkshire have paid a combined total of £573,588 in damages settling 64 NHS staff assault claims since 2019. Still, the number of claims and incidents reported to NHS Resolution, the legal arm of the NHS, is far higher.

To read Legal Expert’s original research, please visit: https://www.legalexpert.co.uk/accident-at-work-claims/assault-at-work-compensation/.

Patrick Mallon, Legal Expert solicitor, said: “These figures are extremely concerning. Nobody should have to feel threatened at work – especially hard-working, vital NHS staff.”

The findings follow the recent attack on a nurse at Royal Oldham Hospital’s acute medical unit (AMU) at around 11:30 pm on Saturday 11th January.

The nurse in her 50s, has been left with life-changing injuries and remains in hospital after being stabbed with a ‘sharp instrument,’ which was not a knife, according to Greater Manchester Police.

The force has confirmed that a 37-year-old man has now been charged with attempted murder and possession of a bladed article.

Solicitor Mr Mallon added: “Something must be done to tackle abuse towards NHS staff who are just trying to do their jobs.”

New figures obtained via Freedom of Information requests reveal staff assault legal claims have cost eight NHS Trusts across Yorkshire more than £570K in the last five years but 14 Trusts in the region have had a combined total of 196 claims and incidents reported to NHS Resolution.

South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust has paid out a total of £153,732 settling 11 staff assault claims, the highest amount of all Trusts in the region.

However, in the last five years, it has had 34 claims and incidents of staff assaults reported to NHS legal services.

Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust has settled seven claims since 2019 to the tune of £123,520, while Leeds & York Partnership Trust settled eight claims by paying £90,534 in damages.

Sheffield Health & Social Care NHS Foundation Trust has paid out a further £66,042 settling 11 claims but out of all Yorkshire Trusts, it had the second highest number of staff assault incidents raised to the NHS legal body, standing at 22 since 2019.

Infographic copyright: LegalExpert.co.uk

The NHS as a whole has paid a total of £20,763,095 in damages settling 1,017 NHS staff assault claims since 2019.

The highest number of claims out of 236 NHS Trust in England were lodged against Mersey Care NHS Trust in the North West which had 122 claims and incidents reported to NHS Resolution.

In the last five years, it has settled 62 claims with damages amounting to £1,159,679 – the second-highest amount out of all Trusts.

Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust has paid out the most in damages, totalling £1,180,394, to settle 10 NHS staff assault claims.

The Trust, which has locations in Brighton, Hove, East and West Sussex, has had 20 claims and incidents of NHS staff assaults reported to the NHS Legal body since 2019.

Infographic copyright: LegalExpert.co.uk

Northern Care Alliance NHS Trust Foundation Trust which includes Royal Oldham Hospital where the recent stabbing took place, has had 25 claims and incidents of staff assaults recorded by NHS Resolution since 2019.

During that time, the Trust has settled five claims with damages amounting to £37,040.

A separate Freedom of Information request revealed there were at least 41,226 physical assaults on NHS staff working in hospitals in 2023, an increase on the previous year and a 21% jump since 2019.

Around 14 percent of NHS staff have self-reported that they have experienced at least one incident of physical violence from patients, service users, relatives, or other members of the public in the last 12 months, according to the latest NHS staff survey.

However, the ambulance sector is the worst affected, with almost 50 percent of paramedics experiencing physical abuse.

Legal Expert’s investigation has gathered all the NHS Trusts where staff have lodged assault claims. Below are the top 10 trusts with the highest number of staff assault legal claims:

The trusts with the highest number of NHS staff assault claims are as follows:

• Mersey Care NHS FT (62)
• Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS FT (34)
• Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS FT (33)
• Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS FT (26)
• Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership NHS Trust (23)
• Barnet, Enfield and Haringey Mental Health NHS Trust (20)
• Central and North West London NHS FT (20)
• East London NHS FT (20)
• South London & Maudsley NHS FT (20)
• West London NHS FT (17)

Legal Expert solicitor Mr Mallon said: “Whilst claiming against medical bodies like the NHS can seem daunting, such claims help highlight the issues and hopefully start the conversation that leads to change to ensure no staff members ever fall victim to either physical or verbal abuse in the future.”

Legal Expert offers a specialist service for anyone looking for support and advice after being affected by physical or verbal assault.

They operate a 24-hour helpline and live chat service which you can access on their website.

To read Legal Expert’s original research, please visit: https://www.legalexpert.co.uk/accident-at-work-claims/research-statistics-assaults-against-nhs-staff/.

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