Third of NHS staff suffer abuse while at work

ONE in three staff working in the NHS in Scotland has been subjected to verbal or emotional abuse in the last year, a new survey shows.

The poll of more than 42,000 staff across the health service also found the majority - 88 per cent - said they were happy to go the "extra mile" at work.

But it also found many faced time pressures to do their job, and did not believe they were consulted about work changes and that their ideas would not be listened to.

The survey found 41 per cent of staff said they had unrealistic time pressures often or always during their work, while 41 per cent said they did sometimes.

But the number of employees who would recommend their health board as "a good place to work" increased to 58 per cent - compared with 55 per cent in 2008 and 43 per cent in 2006.

For the first time, the survey included a question on experiences of emotional and verbal abuse. It found that one in three staff members have experienced this type of behaviour in the past 12 months - most of it from the families of patients.

Health secretary Nicola Sturgeon said: "It is concerning that staff have experienced verbal and emotional abuse and disappointing that two-thirds of the incidents recorded were committed by patients' relatives and members of the public."