There has long been an acknowledgment by ministers and NHS leaders that violence against staff by patients was an issue that needed addressing, with a strategy to tackle it announced nearly five years ago.
The health service’s 2019 long-term plan included a pilot for the use of body-worn cameras by paramedics in a bid to “de-escalate” situations. The following year the Crown Prosecution Service announced an agreement with the police and NHS England to “secure swift prosecutions” of those who assault staff, and the maximum penalty for assaulting emergency workers, including doctors and nurses, was also doubled to two years.
