Yahoo News Essex Partnership University NHS Trust pays £486,000 to staff who were assaulted over five years
An Essex mental health trust has paid out nearly half a million pounds to staff who claimed they were assaulted over the last five years, a new study has found. The Essex Partnership NHS Trust has paid out nearly £500,000 in staff assault claims since 2019 - one of the highest amounts in England.
An investigation by LegalExpert.co.uk has found that the amount was paid for a total of 15 NHS staff assault claims since 2019. Physical assaults on NHS staff are defined as: “The intentional application of force to the person of another without lawful justification, resulting in physical injury or personal discomfort.”
Data obtained via Freedom of Information requests to NHS Resolution (the legal body of the NHS) reveals that total damages for such claims paid out by Essex Partnership Trust amounts to £486,117 for 15 claims. The trust, which has services across the county, has recorded 36 NHS staff assault claims and incidents since 2019.
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The Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Basildon, Broomfield and Southend Hospitals, also recorded a further 13 such incidents and claims but none were settled with damages. Overall in England, the highest number of NHS staff assault claims was recorded at Mersey Care NHS Trust in the North West.
Out of 236 NHS Trust, it had the highest number of staff assault claims. A total of 62 were lodged within Mersey Care since 2019 of which there were damages payments awarded. The compensation paid out by the trust amounted to £1,159,679 - the second highest in England.
Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust paid out the highest amount in damages, totalling an eye-watering £1,180,394 in the last five years. The news comes amid responses to a separate FOI request that revealed there were at least 41,226 physical assaults on NHS staff working in hospitals in 2023, an increase on the previous year and a 21 per cent jump since 2019.
Around 14 per cent of NHS staff have self-reported that they have experienced at least one incident of physical violence from patients, service users, relatives or other members of the public in the last 12 months, according to the latest NHS staff survey.
Legal Expert solicitor Patrick Mallon said: "These figures are extremely concerning. Nobody should have to feel threatened at work - especially hard-working, vital NHS staff. Something must be done to tackle abuse towards NHS staff who, for the majority, are just trying to do their jobs.
Whilst claiming against medical bodies like the NHS can seem daunting, such claims help highlight the issues and hopefully start the conversation that leads to change to ensure no staff members ever fall victim to either physical or verbal abuse in the future."
NHS Resolution manages a number of risk-pooling schemes (similar to insurance) for the NHS, one of which is the Liability to Third Parties Scheme (LTPS). This covers both employers’ liability (such as duties of care owed to employees) and public liability (duties of care owed to other patients, visitors, and other members of the public).
A spokesperson for Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (EPUT) said: “Our staff provide care in often complex situations and their safety and wellbeing is our priority. We have introduced a number of measures to support our staff to work in safe environments. However, where necessary and appropriate, we ensure colleagues are supported to report incidents of this nature so they can be investigated and appropriate action taken.”
The trust added that it has a Violence and Abuse Prevention team that support staff to work in a safe environment, with "robust reporting procedures in place" along with dedicated advisors to support staff throughout any investigations. They also said that psychological and wellbeing support is in place across the Trust and all colleagues are also actively encouraged to raise concerns of any nature through our Freedom to Speak Up processes.
