Nearly three-quarters of A&E staff experience violence or aggression daily or weekly, according to a survey highlighting the “appalling” abuse of NHS workers.
The Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) said understaffed and overcrowded emergency departments were contributing to increased targeting of medics.
In a survey of more than 2,000 workers in the UK, 63% said they had suffered discrimination including racism, sexism and homophobia, while 73% said violence or aggression of all kinds was a daily or weekly occurrence. Almost all (96%) said they had experienced abuse from patients or members of the public.
Dr Ian Higginson, the president of the RCEM, said: “No one should go to work fearing or, worse, expecting to be attacked, intimidated or abused. Nor should they lack confidence that their employers have their backs, or that the judicial system will kick in.
“Yet that’s the reality faced by the majority of my colleagues in EDs [emergency departments] across the country. They often do not feel safe to care for patients. It is an appalling state of affairs which is contributing towards many people seriously considering whether emergency medicine – or even healthcare in general – is for them.”
Senior nurses said in January that abuse of NHS staff had become a national crisis.
In the survey, emergency department workers said long waiting times and overcrowding had made violence and aggression a “routine” part of working on the hospital frontline. Staff shortages and corridor care – patients being treated in non-clinical spaces because of overcrowding – were also cited as main reasons behind the abuse.
One anonymous resident doctor said: “Working in the ED, you brace yourself for a lot, but nothing truly prepares you for direct, hateful verbal abuse, especially when it’s racially charged.”
A senior emergency doctor told the survey they had been kicked in the face by an aggressive patient lying on a trolley.
Ministers have pledged to get key waiting times across the NHS back on track before the end of this parliament in 2029. However, the leaders of professional bodies have called for faster action after a series of targets were missed at the end of the financial year in March.
The NHS was told to ensure 78% of A&E patients were treated within four hours by March. While it came close to that target – 77.6% of patients were treated within four hours that month – the proportion has since slipped.
Higginson called on the government to accelerate its drive to reduce waiting times and overcrowding. “Much has been said by us and other organisations over the years about violence and aggression towards healthcare staff. But the problem seems to be getting worse, not better,” he said.
“It’s time for action, time for governments, employers and organisations stand up for NHS staff, and time to ensure that those who intimidate, abuse or assault those who are trying to care for them face meaningful consequences for their actions.”
The worsening conditions in A&E would have “devastating” consequences for the workforce if they continued, the RCEM added.
Only 4% of those surveyed said they always felt safe working in A&E, while 75% reported short-term stress and anxiety, 40% said they had experienced burnout and 28% long-term stress or anxiety.
In January, data obtained by the Guardian revealed that more than 295,000 incidents of physical violence and aggression by patients against staff had been recorded by 212 NHS trusts in England between 2022 and 2025.
Hospitals records showed the number of violent incidents, which ranged from violent threats to attempted and actual assaults, had risen from 91,175 in 2022-23 to 104,079 in 2024-25. This was equivalent to about 285 cases being reported every day in the most recent year.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “Any acts of violence, abuse or harassment towards NHS staff are completely unacceptable and will not be tolerated. Everyone working in our national health service has a fundamental right to be safe at work, and it is deeply concerning that so many emergency department staff continue to experience this behaviour.
“That is why this government recently introduced new NHS staff standards, which set out the steps that every NHS employer across the country must take to prevent and reduce violence and abuse against their staff and help ensure they can do their jobs safely.”
