NHS in Hampshire pays out £1.7m to staff who were assaulted, traumatised and injured while at work
The pay-outs went to NHS staff who had been assaulted, injured and traumatised while on shift.
More than £1.5m of taxpayer money has been spent on personal injury claims from NHS staff in Hampshire, new data suggests.
A Freedom of Information request into personal injury and accident settlements in the NHS, which has been seen by The News, found that over the past five years, £190m has been spent by the health service across the country.
In Hampshire, £1.7m was paid out to employees who had been injured, assaulted, or traumatised by events in the workplace.
Hampshire and Isle of Wight Healthcare shelled out the largest sum in the region thanks to a payout of £669,541 in damages to its workers, with 43 claims received overall for staff workplace injuries. It was followed by University Hospital Southampton, where the total payout came to £521,285 over the same period, with 27 claims received.
Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust paid out a total of £221,143 from 25 claims. A spokesperson for the NHS trust said: “The safety and wellbeing of our staff is a top priority and we take every incident seriously.
“We encourage all staff to report incidents and hazards so that we can investigate, reduce risks and learn. It is therefore encouraging that the number of personal injury or workplace accident claims over the past five years is a comparatively low number, especially given the size of our trust.
“We support colleagues when incidents do occur and have measures in place to keep staff safe, including risk assessments, training, and ongoing work to promote safe working environments and reduce violence and aggression.”
Nationwide, slips and trips are the leading cause of staff injury, accounting for 1,763 successful claims - but a further 1,021 claims were from NHS workers who were assaulted while on-duty.
Patrick Mallon, head of workplace accident claims at Accident Claims Advice, said: “Hospitals and healthcare facilities should be environments of safety and healing, but this data shows an alarming reality for the people keeping our health service afloat.
“To see more than 1,000 healthcare workers sue the NHS after being assaulted or falling on the job points to a systemic failure of basic workplace protection.
“Diverting more than £190m away from patient care to fund injury damages and legal battles is a tragedy for an already cash-strapped service. Front-line staff have a legal right to a safe environment, and if trusts fail to provide it, workers must continue to use the legal system to protect their health and livelihoods.”