Over 5000 healthcare staff have been assaulted while at work in the past year.
The shock figure was released today (Thursday) and branded unacceptable by health chiefs.
Some of the attacks, which have taken places across the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde health board area which incorporates West Dunbartonshire, have been so severe that police have had to be called to intervene.
Director of human resources and organisational development, Anne MacPherson, said: “Despite us introducing a range of measures to protect our staff we are unfortunately still seeing incidents of both physical and verbal abuse.
“In some instances staff have required support from Police Scotland because of the danger to their own and patients’ wellbeing, and that is unacceptable.
“As a board we are committed to reducing and deterring such incidents as well as ensuring staff are trained to deal with situations when they do arise. We must do all we can to protect our staff whilst delivering our services 24-hours a day, seven days a week. Our staff should be able to fulfil their duties without fear of assault or abuse.”
The statistics include 2857 physical assaults by patients on staff, 1070 incidents of verbal abuse and six stalking cases.
They also incorporate 13 incidents of sexual harassment, 1188 threats of physical violence and 48 assaults by those other than patients.
The health board’s head of health and safety, Kenneth Fleming added: “NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde has a proactive violence and aggression policy and also a standards of behaviour document, which states that our staff are entitled to work free of threats, assaults and intimidation.
“We take any acts of physical or verbal abuse very seriously. Where staff are assaulted or abused while at work, whether in our hospitals or in the community, we fully support them and encourage them to pursue their abusers through the criminal justice system.”
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