For the first time ever, the NHS staff survey – an annual poll of all NHS staff, with more than 600,000 responses – asked workers if they had been the target of unwanted sexual behaviour in the previous 12 months, which includes inappropriate language, sexual jokes or assault.
The survey showed 9.5 per cent of 3,841 respondents from York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which runs York Hospital, said they experienced at least one incident of unwanted sexual behaviour by a member of the public in 2023.
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A further 4.4 per cent of 3,820 staff said a fellow colleague or other staff had behaved in an undesired sexual manner towards them on at least one occasion.
It means there were at least 534 incidents of sexual harassment towards staff at York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals Trust last year.
A spokesperson for York and Scarborough trust said: “We are committed to keeping both staff and patients safe while in our hospitals.
“Fortunately, instances of this nature are rare, however one instance is one too many and we take a systematic zero-tolerance approach to any kind of abuse.
“The trust is committed to reducing and deterring such incidents through decisive reporting, and robust training and support for our staff, to enable them to deal with situations when they do arise.
“We also have a number of existing and new policies which are designed to embed a culture where our staff feel supported, safe, and secure at work, safeguarding them against violence and abuse.”
NHS sexual safety charter launched last year
Across England, 8.7 per cent of staff said they experienced unwanted sexual behaviour from a member of the public, and this fell to 3.8 per cent from fellow staff members.
The figures showed ambulance staff experienced the highest rate of sexual harassment from both the public and other staff members last year.
Dr Navina Evans, chief workforce, training and education officer at NHS England, said: “It is very distressing that more than 58,000 NHS staff reported experiencing unwanted sexual behaviour from the public last year and such conduct should not be tolerated in the NHS.
“That is why the NHS launched its first ever sexual safety charter last year which provides clear commitments to improve reporting on unacceptable behaviour, as well as appointing more than 300 domestic abuse and sexual violence leads who will review and improve trust policies for reporting of sexual harassment.”
The survey also revealed higher rates of bullying and discrimination against ethnic minorities than white staff, with 28.6 per cent reporting suffering harassment, abuse or bullying from the public, compared to 24.7 per cent of white people.
It suggests an ethnic minority member of staff is 16 per cent more likely to experience bullying from a member of the public than a white staff member.
At York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals Trust, 32.9 per cent of ethnic minorities reported suffering harassment from a patient – 50 per cent more than their white colleagues.
