More than 4,016 Nurses and Midwives Assaulted at the Workplace

According to data received by the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO), over 4,016 were verbally, physically, or sexually assaulted in their workplace in Ireland between the period of January 2023 and February 2024.

The INMO General Secretary, Phil Ní Sheaghdha made this known on Workers Memorial Day. She said, “We know that this is a conservative figure as many nurses and midwives do not report these incidents, not indeed do their employers.”

She said, the HSE, as an employer, needs to significantly change its approach to employee safety. The representative emphasized that their members, most of whom are women, must be assured that they can perform their challenging roles in patient care without concerns for their own safety. She highlighted that numerous members have experienced career-changing or career-ending incidents while working, often due to no fault of their own. Overcrowded working conditions were frequently identified as a primary cause.

“It is imperative that each hospital reflects on its own security arrangements and what they are doing to keep nurses, midwives, and other frontline healthcare workers safe while at work.”