A  recent NZNO survey of emergency department nurses working over the Christmas/New Year period has revealed the vast majority were subjected to abuse over the festive season.

NZNO College of Emergency Nurses spokesperson Natasha Hemopo says 84% of survey respondents reported dealing with unacceptable behaviour. Shouting and swearing was the most common (94%), followed by physical aggression (39%) and threats (35%).

"There is a chronic shortage of health workers at Te Whatu Ora which is contributing to increased wait times in Emergency Departments (EDs), causing frustration for patients and their worried whānau, and compromising the quality of patient care.

"Nurses constantly raise concerns about the link between patients’ frustrations which lead to abusive behaviour and short staffing in EDs. This survey further highlights the correlation between under-staffing and unsafe staffing."

Natasha Hemopo says at least 55% of respondents said their ED was understaffed at the time of the incident.

Health care workers are five times more likely to be assaulted on the job than other workers, she says.

"Hospital environments can be stressful. People are there because they are sick or injured. Nurses do an amazing job, but there are never enough of them.

"Other factors that can fuel frustration and anxiety include being in pain, systemic racism, alcohol and drugs."

Some 77% of those who experienced unacceptable behaviour reported feeling threatened while 82% reported being verbally assaulted and 18% physically assaulted.

Among those physically assaulted, the most common injuries were bruising and sprains/strains. Some 56% reported the incident, but only 34% of those reports were formal reports through the reporting system Datix.

"Concerningly, the main reasons for not reporting incidents were lack of confidence in the system or lack of time.

Patients need nurses to have safe staffing levels, not the Government’s artificial target of having 95% of patients admitted, discharged or transferred from an ED within six hours.

"The ED target doesn't change the reality of under-resourced EDs for patients or for nurses.

"Improving conditions by providing 24/7 specifically trained security in all emergency departments to protect patients and enable staff to do their jobs safely would also be a huge step in encouraging a new generation of recruits to become emergency nurses. Safe staffing and hiring graduates are key claims by NZNO members in their stalled Collective Agreement negotiations," Natasha Hemopo says.