Zero tolerance campaign fails as attacks on nurses continue

The government's pledge to cut violence and aggression against NHS staff is not working, according to a survey published this week in Nursing Times.

The survey reveals that nearly four years after the launch of the government's zero tolerance campaign, giving trusts greater powers to punish offenders, managers are still not offering enough help and protection. The survey questioned nearly 1,500 NHS nurses, of whom 40 per cent reported they had been assaulted in the past three years.

Just 25 per cent of those who said they had been assaulted were offered training in aggression management techniques, 11 per cent were offered counselling and just 4 per cent were offered support in pressing charges.