Adele Waters

NHS trusts recorded more than 35 000 cases of rape, sexual assault, harassment, stalking, and abusive remarks between 2017 and 2022, but only one in 10 trusts has a dedicated policy to manage the problem. Ingrid Torjesen and Adele Waters investigateMedical colleges and healthcare unions have urged the government to take immediate action against sexual assault and harassment in the NHS after an investigation by The BMJ and the Guardian found that trusts are failing to protect staff and patients.The BMJ and the Guardian sent freedom of information (FOI) requests to every single hospital trust and police force in the country for data on how many sexual safety incidents, a term which covers a spectrum of behaviours from abusive remarks to rape, they had recorded on NHS premises, as well as hospital trusts’ policies on how to manage and prevent the problem.The responses show that more than 35 000 sexual safety incidents were reported to 212 NHS trusts in England between 2017 and 2022 and that less than one in 10 trusts has a dedicated policy to deal with sexual assault and harassment. Despite staff being the group predominantly affected (in 62% of incidents), trusts are no longer obliged to report abuse of staff to a central database.The BMA told The BMJ that it called on the government to “urgently produce a plan of action to protect our colleagues,” with the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges and others going further and telling us that they are calling for a full independent inquiry into the epidemic of sexual assault in the NHS.The Hospital Doctors Union (HCSA), GMB union, the Society of Radiographers, the British Dietetic Association, and the Liberal Democrats all told The BMJ that they are also calling for an urgent independent inquiry. HCSA said that employers …

The NHS is conducting an urgent review into physical and sexual abuse of staff on NHS premises, with recommendations expected in the autumn.News of the review came as an investigation by The BMJ and the Guardian showed “shocking” levels of sexual abuse taking place on NHS premises.1 The investigation found that 35 606 incidents of rape, sexual assault, harassment, stalking, and abusive remarks had occurred over five years (2017 to 2022), with most (58%) being cases of patients abusing staff and 20% patients abusing other patients. Nearly three quarters of incidents occurred in mental health trusts.Figures on abuse released to The BMJ under a freedom of information request show that the legal bill for physical and sexual abuse and violence on NHS premises in England between 2017 and 2022 …

Megan (name changed) was assaulted by Wayne Bronze, who was later struck off by the Nursing and Midwifery Council, in 2016. She shares her story as part of The BMJ and Guardian ’s investigation into sexual assault in the NHS“I’d been a patient at Island Surgery for 22 years, and Wayne Bronze worked there for about three years. He always made friendly banter, but sometimes it became rude and crude. If I came in wearing a V neck top, he would say ‘cor’ like Les Dawson.“He also used to stare at my 14 year old daughter’s chest and make rude comments about smear tests in front of her. Once, describing a smear test, he said: ‘It is like the McDonald’s M, their legs represent the M when they are lying on the table. Then you go in, get what you want and get out.’ I didn’t say …

Jade, who has multiple chronic health problems which require hospital admission, shares her story as part of The BMJ and Guardian ’s investigation into sexual assault in the NHS. She has launched a claim against Derriford Hospital in light of the sexual assault she experienced there“One day at the beginning of November 2020 I had been told by my consultant to come down to Derriford Hospital because I was passing blood when I went to the loo. I was in the [emergency department] waiting room, and there was a man there who seemed agitated. He was rolling his eyes and getting very close to people with his mask off. He looked like he was constantly looking for a member of staff.“Eventually I was called through to see a nurse, and I was put in a six bed processing area. The man appeared again, and I became worried about what he was doing, but nobody else seemed worried by him. Then I was moved to the ‘majors’ area, next to an old lady; we were both on trolleys. This …

BMJ doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.q666 (Published 20 March 2024) Cite this as: BMJ 2024;384:q666 Adele Waters

Elisabeth Briggs, 48, a mother of three teenagers, from Shropshire, fights back tears as she recounts how her life changed after she contracted Covid - which then developed into long Covid.

BMJ doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.q1021 (Published 07 May 2024) Cite this as: BMJ 2024;385:q1021 Adele Waters

Figures show there are thousands of sexual attacks and violations - so called 'sexual safety incidents'- in UK healthcare settings every year. The vast majority of victims are female.