NHS violence penalties toughened

A hardline approach is to be taken with people who assault health service professionals.

A recent agreement between the police and NHS security services means that every report of violence will be reported, and pressure is to be put on the Crown Prosecution Service to ensure tougher sentences are given to the attackers.

An NHS report released in June shows that 1 in 22 NHS staff were attacked in 2005 – a total of 60,385 staff were assaulted by either a patient or their relative.

The managing director of NHS Security Management Service Jim Gee, said:
“With the promise of more prosecutions and tougher sentences, NHS staff should be able to look forward to the day when assaults are an increasingly rare occurrence.

"Although we have seen a 15-fold increase in the number of prosecutions for attacks on staff, history tells us that the courts have been too lenient on these crimes.

"Violence against our staff will not be tolerated. We will do everything within our power to ensure offenders are punished."