A&E waits fuel 4,000 attacks on NHS staff a year: One worker is attacked every two hours in 'tinder box' hospitals as nurses face violence and gun threats
Middle-class patients and their families are among those driven to rage by long waits and dehumanising care in corridors, the Royal College of Nursing said.
It warned that its members were physically and mentally scarred after being punched, spat at – and even threatened with guns.
Many have been forced to take time off to recover, with some too traumatised to return.
The nurses' union warned that the Government's ten-year plan to reform the Health Service will 'fail completely' without action to protect and retain staff.
In all, 89 hospital trusts responded to a Freedom of Information request from the RCN, revealing that they recorded 4,054 reports of physical violence against A&E staff last year – almost double the 2,093 in 2019.
It means 11 members of A&E staff are attacked on average every day in England.
However, the true figure is likely to be even higher as just 69 per cent of NHS acute trusts responded to the RCN, and they were only asked for figures for their biggest A&E.
Meanwhile, a separate analysis by the RCN shows that incidents of patients having to wait more than 12 hours in A&E increased 20-fold between 2019 and 2024.
The news comes as:
Nine in ten pharmacies are victims of shoplifting, with strong painkillers among the drugs being targeted.
Victims' minister Alex Davies-Jones admitted shoplifting had 'got out of hand' after police ordered a store to remove a sign calling thieves 'scumbags'.
Sarah Pochin, Reform UK's only female MP, said it was 'no surprise' that vigilante groups were patrolling the streets as immigration led to fears for women's safety.
Rachelle McCarthy, a senior charge nurse from the East Midlands, was punched 'square in the face' by a 'drunk, 6ft 2in bloke'. She said: 'Even patients you would expect to be placid are becoming irate because of just how long they have to wait. You can only imagine the behaviour of those who are already prone to violence.'
A senior A&E nurse based in east London said her hospital was a 'tinder box' for violence. She has seen colleagues punched, kicked and had a gun pointed at them, while she had been spat at by a patient and threatened with an acid attack.
She said she became depressed and anxious and took a research role to take a break from nursing, adding: 'The violence I saw made me become more fearful outside work. I saw how volatile people can be.'
Sarah Pochin (pictured), Reform UK's only female MP, said it was 'no surprise' that vigilante groups were patrolling the streets as immigration led to fears for women's safety
A senior A&E nurse in the South West said a patient 'pinned a nurse up against a wall' and another punched a member of staff 'in the groin and stomach'.
She added: 'It's not going to help with our retention and recruitment if you think you're going to be clobbered every shift.'
Sarah Tappy, a senior A&E sister in east London, was punched in the head and knocked unconscious by a patient, leaving her with anxiety and PTSD. 'The violence is awful,' she said. 'And it's just constant. None of us feel safe.'
At Maidstone Hospital in Kent, incidents rose by more than 500 per cent, from 13 in 2019 to 89 in 2024, while at Manchester Royal Infirmary, attacks rose from 39 to 79.
In April, Health Secretary Wes Streeting pledged to 'keep NHS staff safe' by implementing mandatory hospital-level reporting of violence against staff, saying that 'protecting staff from violence is not an optional extra'.
However, the RCN says the Government 'needs to do more than just record the shocking levels of violence'.
Professor Nicola Ranger, RCN general secretary, said: 'Behind these shocking figures lies an ugly truth. Dedicated and hard-working staff face rising attacks because of systemic failures that are no fault of their own.
Nursing staff not only go to work underpaid and undervalued but face a rising tide of violence. It leads to physical and mental scarring, lengthy time off and sometimes staff never returning.
'You can't fix the Health Service when vital staff are too scared to go into work.
'Unless the Government does something about lengthy waits, corridor care and understaffed nursing teams, more staff will become victims of this utterly abhorrent behaviour. Left unaddressed, this could see plans to reform the NHS fail.'
Daniel Elkeles, chief executive of NHS Providers, which represents trusts said: 'These findings are absolutely shocking.'
Rebecca Smith, of NHS Employers, said: 'No one should have to face violence at work – it is totally unacceptable.'
Mr Streeting said: 'I am appalled. Nurses dedicate their lives to helping others and deserve to go about their jobs free from violence. Anyone who violates this core principle will feel the full force of the law.'
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