Police have been called to deal with incidents at Glasgow's hospitals and health centres on more than 4,400 occasions in the last five years.
The thousands of cases, predominantly involving violence and aggression towards staff and patients, have been recorded since 2018.
The figures, obtained through Freedom of Information requests by policing and justice magazine 1919, show that nearly 10,000 incidents occurred over the five years, meaning almost half of all instances occurred within the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde area.
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Of the health board’s 4,422 police calls in five years, 2,318 concerned the behaviour of people towards either staff or other patients. The nationwide figure is expected to be even higher, with some health boards – including NHS Lothian and NHS Lanarkshire – unable to provide the relevant information.
Norman Provan, associate director for the Royal College of Nursing in Scotland, told 1919: “These figures are extremely worrying.
“The increasing demands and staff shortages are piling the pressure onto nursing teams who are doing their best in very challenging circumstances.
“They should not have to put up with verbal or physical assaults.
“All health boards have a duty of care to protect their staff from attack and we encourage members who experience any type of aggression or violence to report it.”
David Threadgold, chair of the Scottish Police Federation, said: “While Police Scotland will always try and respond to all 999 calls, the data shows that the situation across the NHS estate – even without returns from large NHS authorities – is becoming unsustainable from a policing perspective.
“Colleagues from the Royal College of Nursing highlight ‘increasing demands and staff shortages’ and Police Scotland is no different.
“As we consult internally to identify areas to reduce police officer numbers across Scotland, the impact will be felt in the NHS and across our communities.
“We must continue to demand further investment in policing to ensure that we can deliver the service that the public, and hardworking police officers across Scotland seek and demand.”
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