Threatening behaviour and verbal abuse to Gateshead Council staff leading to health and safety "near misses" are on the rise.
Figures revealed to councillors show reported incidents of verbal abuse or threatening behaviour in 2022 stood at 35 and 29 respectively. However, this year's numbers show an increase in reported verbal abuse to 56 and 69 regarding threatening behaviour.
The departments of adult social care and housing bore the brunt of half the cases of threatening behaviour with repeat offenders.
Read More: Gateshead Council scraps library fines for overdue books
Documents state the increase in cases shows a positive shift in behaviour as staff feel more comfortable making incidents known. The authority's health and safety department is now working with staff to, according to documents, "reduce the incidents and mitigate risks".
Leader of Gateshead Council, Martin Gannon said: "Anecdotally, I am aware of these things, that it is becoming increasingly difficult for staff. I think the vast majority of people in Gateshead understand the difficulty we find ourselves in.
"We are half the size we were 13 years ago, we've lost £179m a year to spend on services. It means the staff we have left are working harder and they feel it as much as anyone else that we cannot provide the quality and extent of services we could 13 years ago.
"Staff are doing their jobs with great resilience and dedication and the vast proportion of people understand that. The number of increasing verbal abuse and threatening behaviour is relatively small but it is unacceptable.
"We need to put out a strong message that this is just not acceptable. The people doing this work are dedicated and they need the support of everyone in Gateshead".
Other health and safety near misses are also on the rise including "failures for a safe system of work". Cases increased from 14 in 2022 to 38 in 2023.
It is unclear whether these near misses are a result of staff not following safety protocols or if protocols are not working.
Read More:
