Thousands of Melbourne hospital workers attacked in past year

Thousands of hospital workers were abused by Melbourne patients, who bit, punched, kicked and threatened staff at a rate of more than one attack every hour.

Melbourne hospital workers faced an onslaught of abuse last financial year — equivalent to more than one attack every hour — as staff warn aggression from patients and their families has spiked in recent years.

The nursing union said some staff “never return to work”, while a peak doctors body feared the “unacceptable” numbers could increase further without action on issues including emergency department delays.

Victoria’s 14 metropolitan hospital services recorded 10,099 occupational violence incidents last financial year — an average of 27 every single day — a Herald Sun analysis of their annual reports has shown.

An extra 506 incidents were reported compared to the previous year.

Melbourne hospitals workers faced an onslaught of abuse. Picture: Supplied

Attacks on hospital workers run at more than one an hour. Picture: Supplied

Incidents can range from verbal threats to serious physical assaults, with staff injured or developing an illness or condition in about 1600 cases between June 2022 and July 2023.

A health department spokesman said public health services have “a zero-tolerance policy” for such behaviour.

The true number of incidents is likely higher, with differences between hospitals’ incident injury ratio suggesting cases with no visible injury can be under-reported.

Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation Victorian branch secretary Lisa Fitzpatrick said violence from patients and families “ruins” the lives of the “very people trying to help” them.

“Covid and the pressure on hospitals in the past few years exacerbated violent and aggressive behaviour,” she said.

“Nurses, midwives and carers are kicked, bitten, hit with an object, punched and spat on.”

But she said it was preventable and called on executives to “take urgent action”, pointing to the ANMF’s proposed policies — which cover training to workplace design — that have been sent to all hospitals.

“Many still have a reactive focus, with change only occurring after an incident has occurred,” she said.

“Until all systems and controls are in place to prevent violence and aggression, it will keep happening.”

The nursing union says violence against medical staff is ruining their lives.

It comes after the Victorian Auditor General’s Office found the health department and the three hospitals audited had failed to properly protect workers from issues including occupational violence.

Australasian College of Emergency Medicine Victorian chair Dr Belinda Hibble said emergency departments had seen a spike “in recent years” as patients’ and families’ “frustrations boil over”.

“The current level remains unacceptable,” she said.

“Violence and aggression within our workplace increases where people wait long periods.”

She said reducing waiting times and a consistent approach to trained hospital security guards would help, warning violence could keep rising without action.

“There would not be one emergency department worker who has not been subjected to violence or aggression,” she said.

“We’re very concerned about the cumulative effects.

“Our workers … deserve to feel safe.”

2412 hospital workers were attacked at the Royal Melbourne Hospital. Picture: Andrew Henshaw

Melbourne Health — which includes the Royal Melbourne Hospital — recorded the highest number of cases last financial year, logging more 2400 incidents, 61 (2.5 per cent) of which led to staff injury or illness.

There were 1, 645 incidents, including more than 180 resulting in an injury or illness, at Monash Health, though as a larger employer, they fell in the middle once adjusted for staffing.

Mercy Hospitals Victoria, who run Werribee and the Women’s in Heidelberg, were the last organisation to record above 1,000 incidents, including about 28 ‘injury or illness’ cases.

Austin and Eastern Health fell in the nine hundreds, while Peninsula Health recorded just above 800 incidents followed by Northern Health at 643.

St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne, Alfred and Western Health were in the 400s, followed by Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and the Royal Children’s Hospital in the 100s.

The Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital and the Royal Women’s Hospital were the only organisations to record less than 100 incidents.

A health department spokesman said they were delivering initiatives including “de-escalation training”, hospital security guards, CCTV cameras, duress alarms and “electronic access control systems for doorways” and supported the VAGO recommendations.

“Everyone has the right to feel safe at work,” he said.