Assaults against NHS staff more than double

Following a worrying rise in physical assaults against NHS Orkney staff, the health authority has signed a pledge ensuring safety at work.

The “Your Safety Matters” pledge, originally devised by Police Scotland, was agreed upon at Thursday’s meeting of the NHSO Board.

Between 2021 and 2022, assaults on staff had more than doubled, from nine to 23. Lorraine Hall, the interim director of human resources, emphasised that this number is just based on the incidents which are reported. 

“I think there is an increase in physical assaults,” she said. “We need to recognise that and we need to support our staff in dealing with that.”

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