A good Freedom of Information (FOI) request usually leads to a decent article for the paper and this was a case in point. The first piece is from the front and it is followed by what appeared on pages 4 and 5.

ATTACKS on NHS Highland staff branded “cowardly and utterly unacceptable” will be highlighted to Scotland’s health secretary by a leading local politician. 

SNP MSP Fergus Ewing made the vow to speak to party colleague Humza Yousaf about a Courier investigation which has discovered more than one physical or verbal attack a day on average had been recorded by the health board over a three-year period.

“Any attack on any NHS staff is a criminal assault and obviously deplorable behaviour,” Mr Ewing said.

A spokeswoman for NHS Highland said: “All colleagues working in health and social care should be treated with respect.

“Any deliberate act of violence and/or aggression towards our teams is rightly condemned and reported.”

‘We must all look after our NHS heroes’

POLITICIANS from across the political spectrum have united to condemn shocking levels of attacks suffered by frontline NHS staff in the Highlands.

According to figures obtained by the Inverness Courier through a Freedom of Information request there were a total of 1443 verbal and physical assaults committed against staff in the Inverness and Nairn area between April 2018 and March 2021 – equating to more than one per day.

Figures show that between April 1, 2018 and March 31, 2019, there were a total of 381 physical assaults and 73 verbal attacks.

Between April 1, 2019 and March 31, 2020 that rose to 448 physical attacks and 77 incidents where staff were verbally abused.

For the period April 1, 2020 to March 31, 2021 there was a drop, to 398 physical assaults and 66 verbal attacks – though this coincided with the height of the Covid pandemic and lockdown when people may have been accessing health services less frequently and, perhaps, were more consciously appreciative of NHS staff.

Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey SNP MP Drew Hendry said: “Absolutely no one should have to tolerate abusive behaviour while trying to do their job, especially workers who put their lives on the line every day to protect our families.

“Thankfully the overwhelming majority of people are, rightly, grateful to NHS workers and will share my disgust at these incidents.”

Inverness and Nairn MSP, the SNP’s Fergus Ewing, said: “Any attack on any NHS staff is a criminal assault and obviously deplorable behaviour.

“I will raise these stats directly with the health secretary, who I am sure will work with NHS Highland and Police Scotland to do all possible to protect our NHS staff who are, after all, trying to help and heal people.”

He branded any attacks on NHS staff “cowardly and utterly unacceptable”.

Conservative regional MSP Edward Mountain said: “A zero tolerance approach must be taken and that must mean those found guilty of attacking health care staff receive the full force of the law. We must look after our hard-working healthcare professionals, who do so much to look after us.”

Philip Coghill, senior officer with the Royal College of Nursing Scotland, said: “While it is positive to see that the number of incidents dropped over the past year, it remains the case that nursing staff have been subject to physical and verbal attacks while simply doing their jobs.

“Nursing teams are under enormous pressure due to staff shortages and increasing demands, not just because of Covid-19. 

“They should not have to put up with physical assaults from those they are caring for or their families. 

“NHS Highland has a duty of care to protect their staff from attack and should make clear to patients and their families that this is unacceptable.” 

Highlands and Islands Greens MSP Ariane Burgess said: “I find the figures very distressing and I hope the workers who have been assaulted have been supported in the aftermath of these incidents. 

“No one should have to fear assault in their workplace. 

“NHS frontline staff do an incredible job under the most trying of circumstances and absolutely should be respected.” 

She said she hoped action would be taken to better protect staff and that NHS Highland would review security protocols. 

“This has been an unprecedented few years for the NHS and staff are under more pressure than ever,” she added. “We need to make sure that we don’t lose even more skilled and dedicated NHS workers.” 

Fellow regional MSP, Labour’s Rhoda Grant, said: “This year our NHS workers have experienced increased pressures and staff shortages. 

“To see no significant improvement in physical and verbal abuse over the last three years is just salt to a wound really. 

“One incident of physical or verbal abuse is one too many and I hope NHS Highland looks at what can be done to improve this situation.” 

Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch SNP MSP Kate Forbes was disgusted to see such high figures of assaults on NHS Highland staff at a time when frontline medics “continue to go above and beyond”. 

“It is utterly unacceptable,” she said. 

“Whether you are a nurse, a doctor, a receptionist, a call handler or a porter, everyone should be able to come into work without fear of violence, injury or abuse.” 

And Caithness, Sutherland and Ross SNP MSP Maree Todd said: “Everyone deserves to be treated with respect in their place of work. 

“Under the Emergency Workers (Scotland) Bill, it is an offence to attack those who are providing emergency services and a person found guilty of an assault can face imprisonment, a fine or both. 

“When an assault does take place, it’s important that the offence is reported to the health board to enable support and allow for an investigation to take place. 

“Our healthcare workers have been our most valuable asset throughout the pandemic, they deserve our heartfelt appreciation and gratitude.” 

A spokeswoman for NHS Highland said: “All colleagues working in health and social care should be treated with respect. Any deliberate act of violence and/or aggression towards our teams is rightly condemned and reported. 

“However, we are also mindful that many of the patients seen, particularly in New Craigs Hospital which looks after our mental health and learning disability patients, will have a condition that at times means they can find it difficult to manage their emotions, perceptions and feelings. 

“Patients across a wide range of settings can also have a number of conditions which can result in them being disorientated, confused, hypoxic, brain injured or just plain scared. 

“To support our staff we have violence and aggression training in place, they are actively encouraged to report any incident and support is also available for those who it has impacted on.” 

From The Inverness Courier on Friday, January 28, 2022.