Long A&E waits blamed for surge in attacks on nurses

A SURGE in violence at emergency departments has seen nurses punched, spat at and threatened with acid, an investigation has revealed.

- By Hanna Geissler Health Editor

Data from 89 NHS trusts showed the number of incidents recorded in their largest A&Es more than doubled from 2,093 in 2019 to 4,134 last year.

The Royal College of Nursing linked the "utterly abhorrent" rise in attacks to increased waiting times and corridor care.

The number of patients waiting more than 12 hours in A&E increased by more than 20 times over the same period to more than 530,000 in 2024, its analysis found.

Rachelle McCarthy, a senior nurse from the East Midlands, described being punched "square in the face" by a "drunk, six foot two bloke". She told the RCN: "Even patients you would expect to be placid are becoming irate because of how long they have to wait. You can only imagine the behaviour of those who are already prone to violence."