Health service’s 2025 staff survey found that one in seven had experienced violence from patients or the public
Hundreds of thousands of NHS staff have been attacked, harassed, bullied, or subject to racism, latest NHS figures show.
The health service’s 2025 staff survey found that one in seven had experienced violence from patients or the public, while more than a quarter reported harassment, bullying and abuse, the highest levels in three years.
Given that the NHS in England employs 1.5 million people, this would equate to about 217,000 experiencing violence and more than 380,000 reporting harassment and bullying in 2025 alone.
Sexual harassment has also reached record levels, the figures show. Nearly one in 10 NHS workers, a third of ambulance staff and more than one in 10 nurses and midwives said they had experienced unwanted sexual behaviour in the past year.
