ALMOST a fifth of staff at Whiston and St Helens hospitals experienced physical violence while doing their jobs in the last year, a new study has revealed.

The figure was revealed in the NHS Staff Survey, which was completed by a sample of 1,250 staff working for St Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.

According to the survey, 18 per cent of staff working at the trust experienced physical violence from patients, relatives or the public on at least one occasion in the last 12 months.

This puts the trust in the bottom 20 per cent of hospital trusts in the country in this category, against a national average of 15 per cent.

Additionally, 26 per cent of staff said they experienced harassment, bullying or abuse from patients, relatives or the public in last 12 months.

Speaking at the trust’s board meeting, Nikhil Khashu, director of finance and information, said: “One of the sad things that came out the survey is the violence and aggression overall in the NHS that came out in that way.

“It was just disappointing wasn’t it and making sure our staff were okay as best as they can be from a health and safety point of view.

“Some of the stats I saw across the country was just sad.”

Anne-Marie Stretch, deputy chief executive and director of human resources, said: “Unfortunately, some patients who come into the organisation, particularly those with dementia and accident and emergency, some patients through no fault of their own are difficult to manage and are challenging.

“So, we do need to work with our staff to support them as much as we can.

“But we do have patients who are really very vulnerable as well.”

In addition, 19 per cent of staff said they experienced harassment, bullying or abuse from other members of staff in the last 12 months against a national average of 25 per cent.

And one per cent of saff said they experienced physical violence from other members of staff during the same period against a national average of two per cent. The trust came top nationally in both indicators.

The results of the survey, which is the largest workforce survey in the world, were published in March.

Overall, the trust performed well across the 32 indicators, coming above average nationally for 27 of them – placing it in the top 20 per cent of hospital trusts in the country.

The trust came top in ten indicators nationally and obtained the best score in the North West for four key findings and the overall engagement score.

It also achieved the best score in Cheshire and Merseyside for 10 key findings plus the response rate.

The survey revealed that 28 per cent of staff felt unwell due to work related stress in the last 12 months against a national average of 36 per cent.

And 47 per cent of staff attending work in the last three months despite feeling unwell because they felt pressure from their manager, colleagues or themselves. The national average was 52 per cent.

A number of actions have now been incorporated into the trust’s Combined Workforce Action Plan for 2018-19 to help address the “limited areas of concern”.