‘I’m not a punching bag’: Nurses speak out as violent hospital assaults surge
“I didn’t sign up to be anyone’s punching bag.“
Anne* is fed up.
A damning report from the NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association reveals that almost 50 per cent of nurses have been physically assaulted. Supplied
The nurse, with more than 30 years of experience, says she’s been bitten, kicked, pushed and slapped many times over her career.
However, the day a geriatric patient with dementia attacked her changed everything.
“I could see (the patient) looked like he was going to fall, so I went to him with another nurse,” Anne told A Current Affair.
‘I’m not a punching bag’: Nurses speak out as violent hospital assaults surge Supplied
“He just grabbed my arm and twisted it, and as he twisted my arm ... he stood up and just went whack, whack, whack.“
Anne was punched three times in the head. Her injuries were deemed minor but the pain became so excruciating she underwent surgery twice.
The grandmother says since the attack she finds it hard to be around her grandchildren when they are all in one room making noise.
“I’m a different person ... I don’t like to leave the house,” she said.
A damning report from the NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association reveals that almost 50 per cent of nurses have been physically assaulted.
One in five have been threatened with a weapon.
And nurses are leaving in droves, with between 6000 and 8000 quitting in Australia every year.
“Our nurses and midwives are resilient, but there is waning goodwill left,” NSWNMA assistant general secretary Katrina Bough said.
“There has been a huge normalisation of violence within healthcare. I can’t think of another industry where you are assaulted at work, and your employer or the investigator asks you, ‘What could you have done better?’“
Katrina says the violence is not limited to the public sector or mental health wards and hopes the union’s report will spark change.
“The fact that we’re doing the report and understanding where violence is occurring gives us an opportunity to actually work through those issues.“
Katrina says the violence is not limited to the public sector or mental health wards and hopes the Union’s report will spark change. Supplied
In July, the report was tabled with NSW Health. This led to the establishment of the NSW Health Safety Taskforce, which will now work through the union’s recommendations.
On a national level, the federal government is also taking steps to reduce occupational violence in the workforce, including releasing Australia’s first National Nursing Workforce Strategy this month.
“We really want to see both national and state governments and employers get involved in that strategy,” Bough said.
“Nurses and midwives are the DNA in the backbone of the health system. What does that health system look like if there are no nurses and midwives left?“
*Name changed
Nurse & Midwife Support provides a free, national 24/7 telephone helpline for all Australian nurses, midwives, and students. Call 1800 667 877 or visit nmsupport.org.au
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