NHS boss hits out at sexual harassment against workers

The boss of the NHS has made a dramatic intervention in The Independent highlighting the shocking amount of sexual abuse against staff in the health service, arguing that a #MeToo moment is needed to safeguard staff. Amanda Pritchard hit out at the “unacceptable” levels of abuse faced by doctors and nurses, demanding that health trusts be judged on their progress in tackling sexual harassment.

- REBECCA THOMAS

She has called for sexual harassment against NHS staff to be “stamped out” after it emerged that one in eight workers – 58,000 – had reported experiencing unwanted sexual behaviour last year. Writing exclusively for The Independent, Ms Pritchard said the abuse now levelled at doctors and nurses is unacceptable – with some staff being raped at work, groped, and shown pornography.

Her bombshell warning follows a series of exposés by The Independent, which she credits for helping to highlight this issue, including uncovering widespread sexual harassment of trainee paramedics and the shocking number of sexual assaults on patients and staff within NHS-run mental health services.

“The #MeToo movement has powerfully called out this unacceptable behaviour and fuelled important discussions right across society, and the NHS must not be exempt,” Ms Pritchard wrote. “But we can’t just call out unacceptable behaviour and move on: we need to stamp it out across all parts of the NHS.”

Praising this publication’s coverage of the issue, she added: “It can be incredibly difficult to speak up, and so I applaud those who have come forward to report unacceptable behaviour – and the powerful reporting in The Independent that has helped further to highlight this issue.”