An INMO spokeswoman said that one effect of staffing shortages was that patients and their families are often left for very long periods, sometimes days, in inappropriate areas of hospitals while they wait for a bed. “People get very upset, and unfortunately if they do vent their frustrations, frontline nurses and midwives are the ones who end up taking physical or verbal abuse,” she said.
“Tackling assaults against nurses and midwives requires a zero-tolerance approach, but until the problem of chronic overcrowding is addressed, nurses and midwives will continue to face an avoidably highly volatile workplace where things can too easily get out of control.” In addition, there may be multiple reports relating to the same incident, it said. However, it also acknowledges there are delays in reporting numbers, so they may rise over time.