HEALTH staff in Tayside have been subjected to nearly 600 attacks so far this year, shocking figures have shown.
Between April and November, the number of recorded incidents of violence and aggression towards staff totalled 586.
In the whole of the previous year, the number was 894.
The latest figures have been condemned by union bosses who say that they don’t feel their staff are protected enough.
Unite’s Graham Nelson said: “NHS Tayside has a policy in place to deal with acts of violence against staff, but it does not seem to be proving effective whatsoever.
“There have been serious incidents recorded in the recent past and you would think a review would be put in place to judge the policy’s effectiveness, but that does not seem to be happening.
“It is shameful and Unite will be taking up this issue with NHS Tayside in the new year.”
Mr Nelson said he feared that this year’s figures would surpass last year, but added that the main reason was due to more staff members reporting incidents.
He added: “It’s the last thing you want to deal with when at work and should not be tolerated in any instance.
“I think the increase is due to more staff members coming forward more often when it comes to violence against them. Even when it’s something minor, staff seem more likely to report it.
“I think in the past, a lot of people would have been apprehensive.”
An NHS Tayside spokeswoman said: “NHS Tayside has a very strict zero
tolerance policy to any kind of violence, both physical and verbal, against any member of our staff, patients or visitors, which we vigorously enforce.
“Staff are actively encouraged to report all episodes, no matter how minor, on our new electronic reporting system.
“We have a good working partnership with local police to manage incidents when they may occur.
“We take each and every incident extremely seriously as it is a fundamental right of our staff that they can carry out their duties without having to face any kind of violence or the threat of violence.”