An investigation into violence and sexual harm committed by patients shows how widespread the problem is
A Guardian investigation into violence and sexual harm by patients against NHS staff has revealed tens of thousands of alleged incidents reported over the past three years. Here is what we know from the findings.
NHS trusts in England recorded at least 295,711 alleged incidents of physical violence and aggression by patients against staff in England between 2022 and 2025, the Guardian has found. Responses to freedom of information (FoI) requests from 212 trusts showed the number of incidents reported by staff rose sharply over the three years, 91,175 in 2022-23 to 104,079 in 2024-25. This is equivalent to about 285 cases reported daily in the most recent year. As some trusts have yet to provide figures for all types of violence and aggression, the overall numbers are likely to be substantially higher. Furthermore, managers and frontline staff told the Guardian that the number of incidents officially recorded by trusts significantly underestimated the scale of the problem.
The results of the latest annual NHS staff survey also suggests the number of incidents recorded should be far higher. Of the 744,358 workers who responded, one in seven said they experienced physical violence from patients, their relatives or other members of the public. Given the NHS in England employs about 1.5 million people, this would equate to 215,700 staff in 2024 alone. As staff may experience abuse from several patients, or be abused by the same patient several times, it is not unreasonable to estimate that the true amount of violence and aggression could well exceed a million incidents per year.
