'Too many of our members have had career-ending incidents happen': Calls for ‘zero tolerance’ of abuse at hospitals

THE Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation’s (INMO) assistant director of industrial relations for the southern region has said there must be a “zero-tolerance approach” to instances of abuse at hospitals in Cork and across the country.

It comes as figures obtained by the union showed that more than 4,000 nurses and midwives were assaulted in the workplace during a 14-month period.

The union said it obtained the figures via a Freedom of Information (FOI) request which revealed that 4,016 nurses were assaulted between January 2023 and February 2024.

INMO general secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha said the assaults were verbal, physical, and sexual in nature.

Ms Ní Sheaghdha also said she believed this was a conservative figure, as many assaults go unreported.

This was echoed by INMO assistant director of industrial relations for the southern region, Colm Porter.

Mr Porter said instances of assaults are widespread across hospitals in the country.

“It’s not limited to one area. I think every hospital across the country is experiencing it, and Cork is no different,” he said.

“It’s completely unacceptable. There should be a zero-tolerance approach to it.

“If these instances are being reported to employers, they should really be pursuing people who treat nurses or midwives in this manner.”

Mr Porter said while there is “never an excuse to ever abuse any health worker in any way”, he believed overcrowded conditions in hospitals have exacerbated the issue — a point also made by the union’s general secretary.

“Our members, the majority of whom are women, need to know that they can go about very difficult jobs of treating patients in a safe manner without having to worry about their own safety” said Ms Ní Sheaghdha.

“Too many of our members have had career-ending or career-changing incidents happen to them in the line of their work through no fault of their own.

“Far too often it is the overcrowded conditions that they are working in that are to blame.

“It is imperative that each hospital reflects on its own security arrangements and what they are doing to keep nurses, midwives, and other frontline healthcare workers safe while at work.

“We welcome the positive response to our request to establish an advisory division for health and social care services within the Health and Safety Authority.”