42 hospital staff assaulted

The amount of assaults on hospital staff in Cork and Kerry has been described as appalling and worrying.

New figures have shown that there were 42 assaults up to the first week of June this year in the South/South West hospital group which includes Cork and Kerry and was among 279 across all of the country’s HSE hospitals.

The figures were given to Sinn Féin by the HSE with Cork TD Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire, telling the Cork Independent: “The figure for the South/South West area is shockingly high, and worrying, with 42 assaults in just the first five months of the year. It is an appalling thing to do to a nurse, or a porter or doctor or support staff for that matter, who are doing their best to serve the public. Any assault or attempted assault on a member of the health service as they try to do their job is unacceptable.”

He also said that people deserve the right to be able to do their jobs without fear of facing assault. “I think it is clear that the HSE needs to consider measures to better protect hospital staff, and whether hospitals such as the CUH or the Mercy require additional security measures. Those responsible should also be reported to the gardaí, and I hope that they are brought to justice for assaults.”

INMO General Secretary, Phil Ní Sheaghdha, said the figures are just the tip of the iceberg: “Many more assaults go unreported, as nurses are often too busy to stop work and do the paperwork. The statistics also do not include voluntary hospitals, where problems are likely just as bad.”

In a letter detailing the figures to Sinn Fein, a HSE spokesperson said: “When considering the figures in the report it should be noted that staff are encouraged to report all near misses and incidents – even those that do not result in harm. Hence, the number of incident reports should not be considered as indicated of a level of harm. There many also be multiple reports relating to the same incident.”