March 7, 2023, marked the first anniversary of the UK Government’s ratification of the International Labour Convention 190 on Violence and Harassment. You may well ask, what does this mean to me as a nursing associate working in ED, a healthcare support working in a nursing home, a practice nurse working in a GP surgery, a health visitor or a nurse working for NHS 24?
By signing the convention, the Government commits itself, the workplace safety regulator for Britain and Northern Ireland, and employers to take action to tackle violence at work, particularly violence against women in the workplace.
Across the UK, there is already a suite of regulations around violence and harassment at work which employers must follow. However, the scope of the convention is wide and includes taking reasonable steps to protect workers from violence when travelling to and from work and arising from the use of work-related communications including online and telephone communications. The RCN believes that there is more the Government, regulators and employers can do to meet the requirements of the convention.
The latest RCN employment survey (2021) found that 64.3% of all respondents reported they had experienced verbal abuse from a patient, service user or relative in the previous 12 months. One in four had experienced physical abuse.
Around one in eight of those who had experienced verbal or physical abuse stated they believed it was discriminatory behaviour, linked for example to their gender, ethnicity, age, sexuality or whether they have a disability.
Levels of violence were particularly high for members working in GP surgeries and social care.
Over the years, the RCN has kept the issue of violence against nursing staff in the spotlight, from campaigning for legislation making it a specific offence to assault nursing staff in Scotland and latterly, England and Wales to pushing for a framework to tackle violence across health and social care in Northern Ireland.
As the new chair of the RCN’s UK Safety Representatives’ Committee, I am committed to working with the RCN’s Health, Safety and Wellbeing Team to continue action on work related violence prevention and support for members who are assaulted, wherever they work. We are looking at how we can use the convention as a lever for more action, particularly around safety when travelling home from work after a late shift.
Nursing staff must have the freedom to provide care without the constant fear of verbal and physical abuse. We must work hard to make that one in four, none in four.
For more information, see our 'Violence in the workplace' advice guide.
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