The 2024 NHS Staff Survey for bank-only workers finds a sharp rise in incidents of physical violence and discrimination from patients and the public over the past year. 

There has been a more than 25% rise in incidents of physical violence and discrimination from patients and the public over the past year towards NHS staff.

A quarter (25.3%) of bank-only workers reported experiencing at least one incident of physical violence from patients and the public in the last 12 months, up from 23.7% in 2023. This includes half (50.1%) of all nursing and healthcare assistants responding to the survey.

Bank-only workers in the NHS are those who work flexible or temporary shifts for the NHS staff bank but do not have a permanent contract with any particular NHS Trust. 

“These latest results paint a mixed picture of life as a bank-only worker in the NHS,” said Chris Graham, group chief executive of Picker. 

“While many continue to benefit from the flexibility and improved work-life balance offered by bank roles, rising reports of incidents of violence and discrimination from patients and the public are a cause for concern – particularly for the many bank nursing and healthcare assistants reporting experiences of these unacceptable behaviours,” he continued. 

Mandatory reporting

This increase in physical violence from patients and the public was seen across a range of occupation groups. Ambulance workers had seen incidents rise to 26.8% from 25.5% in 2023, registered nurses and midwives saw incidents rise to 26.8% from 24.1%, and allied health professionals, healthcare scientists and scientific and technical workers saw incidents rise to 20.4% from 16.4% the previous year. 

The proportion of bank-only workers experiencing discrimination from patients and the public has also risen – up to 14.8% in 2024, compared to 13.9% in 2023.

“It is welcome, then, that the secretary of state announced measures last week to tackle violence against those working in the NHS – including mandatory reporting at a national level and analysis to understand if these behaviours affect certain groups disproportionately,” said Graham. 

“Employers can also use today’s survey data to understand trends at a local level, engaging with bank-only workers to tailor interventions to tackle incidents of violence and aggression,” he continued. 

Results from the 2024 NHS Staff Survey for bank-only workers, coordinated by the independent charity Picker on behalf of NHS England, included responses from almost 25,000 NHS bank workers from across more than 150 organisations. 

The survey included in-house bank workers without a substantive or fixed term contract in secondary and tertiary care organisations ranging from allied health professionals to ambulance workers.