Responding to a Unison survey showing widespread sexual harassment of NHS staff, RCN Chief Nurse Professor Nicola Ranger said:
“These figures paint an incredibly disturbing picture. Nursing staff should be able to come to work and expect the NHS to be a safe place - and not face the risk of assault, harassment, or abuse.
“Employers must do all they can to protect staff as they do their jobs and create an environment where they can confidently report incidents and know they will be taken seriously, and all appropriate action will be taken. Otherwise, our health and care service will suffer the effects of even more nursing staff leaving the profession.
“While there is no single short-term solution to tackling sexual harassment and abuse suffered by nursing staff, it’s imperative that any proposals are given proper resource to win the trust and confidence of the health and care workforce.
“We also need more data – otherwise we simply cannot know the scale of the problem and what needs to be done. Data should be collected, publicly reported, and reviewed in terms of the protected characteristics of staff who have experienced abuse.”
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