‘Violence at work is the norm’: Staff attacks soar more than 60 per cent in hospitals

Violence in the state’s public hospitals has surged by more than 60 per cent over the past four years, with a record 26,730 incidents logged last year including healthcare workers being bitten, punched and having their bones broken.

The escalating violence has prompted hospitals to employ security guards in emergency departments, equip staff with duress alarms, and establish a 24/7 security control room.

An analysis by this masthead of more than 60 annual reports tabled in state parliament last week reveals at least 73 violent incidents are reported every day in the state’s public health services, up from 65 incidents the previous year.

As Victorians head to the polls later this month, the issue of soaring violence in hospitals has become a political flashpoint, with Labor pledging $30 million for better lighting across hospital grounds, more CCTV, and court-imposed orders to ban violent patients from Victorian hospitals for up to a year. On Thursday, it announced it would spend $102 million improving mental health nurse-to-patient ratios to reduce pressure on nurses, and improve patient care.

The Liberals have proposed rolling out 70 armed protective services officers across seven major Melbourne hospitals to reduce violence.

Health and Community Services Union state secretary Paul Healey said he had been flooded with reports of violence from members, including a distressing case last week in which a female mental health nurse was physically attacked by a patient during a night shift at a Melbourne hospital.

“This has become an extremely common occurrence,” he said. “Violence at work is the norm now rather than the exception.”

Occupational violence encompasses any incident where an employee is abused, threatened or assaulted in the workplace.

Healey blamed the soaring violence on health funding cuts, which he said had resulted in severe staffing shortages. This, he said, had coincided with new statewide rules to reduce the use of seclusion and restraint on mental health patients, which had previously been employed to protect staff.

A psychiatric nurse, who works at a busy Melbourne hospital and did not want to be identified for fear of losing her job, said a patient had twisted her arm and broken her glasses last month.

Earlier this year, her colleague, a nurse at the same hospital, was punched unconscious by a patient.

“She fell to the floor, and then he got on top of her, punching her like 20 to 30 times,” the nurse said. “It was horrific.”

She said her colleague was left with a broken cheekbone and shattered collarbone and was too traumatised to return to work. The nurse has also observed a rise in patients bringing weapons such as knives and bike chains, and believes drug use, including methamphetamine, is fuelling violence in hospitals.

College of Emergency Nursing Australasia national president Associate Professor Kelli Innes said nurses across the state were reporting a huge escalation in violence.

Innes said nurses were being chased, cornered, physically attacked and increasingly subjected to verbal abuse.

This included verbal threats of “we know where you live” and “we will come after your family”, and warnings that they would be violently assaulted after work.

“The impact it’s having is that emergency nurses are either leaving or are seriously considering leaving,” she said.

A recent survey conducted by the college of hundreds of emergency nurses found more than 58 per cent were seriously considering leaving the profession, while about 60 per cent cited occupational violence among the biggest challenges facing nurses.

Australasian College for Emergency Medicine Victoria branch chair Associate Professor Mark Putland said healthcare workers were routinely being bitten, punched, pushed, kicked, spat on and verbally abused, leading to widespread burnout and psychological harm.

“The workforce has had enough,” Putland said. “If you take a really busy and really stressful environment like our emergency departments, and you make them really overcrowded with poor access to inpatient beds, then you are going to get more occupational violence and aggression.”

He said there had also been a rise in verbal abuse, which was often sexualised or racist.

Northern Health recorded the most incidents, with 4626 violent attacks unfolding at the large health service last financial year. It attributed this rise to improved reporting practices and a stronger reporting culture across the healthcare service. It recorded 74 violent incidents per 100 full-time employees.

“Northern Health will continue to focus on preventative measures, staff training, environmental controls and post-incident support to reduce both the frequency and severity of occupational violence incidents,” it said.

The most-recent Australian Institute of Health and Welfare data showed at least 230 Victorian healthcare workers were hospitalised after being assaulted at work in 2024/25.

The Australasian College for Emergency Medicine and the College of Emergency Nursing Australasia is calling for 24/7 specially trained security guards stationed in every emergency department, along with a taskforce with a direct reporting line to the health minister, to ensure a co-ordinated response to tackle violence in hospitals.

An analysis of hospital annual reports undertaken by the Victorian Liberal Party revealed two-thirds of the state’s health services were operating in the red, with 48 out of 72 recording a combined deficit of more than $486 million.

Opposition health spokeswoman Georgie Crozier said the state government’s financial mismanagement had put hospitals under enormous pressure, and patients and healthcare workers were paying the price.

“At the same time, violence has spilled from our streets into our hospitals, and the people who care for us are increasingly being put at risk,” she said. “It is simply unacceptable.”

Victorian Health Minister Ingrid Stitt said every healthcare worker has the right to feel safe at work.

“We’re taking action to make our hospitals safer with better lighting, more CCTV and tougher consequences for violent behaviour,” she said. “More nurses on every shift means more time for every patient and that’s why we’re extending nurse-to-patient ratios to mental health wards.”

“The Liberals want to cut $40 billion and sack 31,700 frontline workers. You can’t make those cuts without hurting our hospitals.”