Recent figures published by the Liberal Democrats have given cause for concern as tens of thousands NHS staff reported being injured at work in recent years.
The figures, which looked at NHS staff working in Scotland, showed that there were 35,372 reported injuries between 2011 and 2013, although figures did drop from over 12,400 a year to 10,529 in 2013.
Injuries included physical violence and attacks on staff but also comprised of:
- Crushing injuries
- Slips, trips and falls
- Injuries by flying or falling objects
- Dislocated limbs
- Fractured bones
- Lacerations
- Burns
- Scratches
- Sprains and strains
- Incidents involving biohazards
- Electric shocks
Liberal Democrat health spokesman Jim Hume said: “Whilst our health boards operate vigorous accident reporting and prevention systems we know that accidents can occur because of potentially unsafe behaviour or conditions.
“Our figures have shown that NHS staff in Scotland suffered over 35,000 injuries whilst at work over the past three years.
“These include injuries from needles, stress, and slips, trips and falls. It is worrying that violence against staff also remains a high cause of injury.
“Injuries come at great cost to the running of our hospitals, but more importantly they can cost lives. Ministers must work with health boards to reduce these injuries.”
While Britain is still one of the safest places to work in Europe, the data shows that way too many UK workers are still being injured or made ill by their workplace.
Your employer has a legal responsibility to make sure that yourself and other employees are protected from death and serious injury. If your employer has failed to do this and you have suffered an injury, then contact our expert injury lawyers immediately on 0808 301 8217 to discuss your accident.
Express Solicitors work closely with a number of medical experts to ensure that not only you receive the maximum amount of compensation possible for your injuries, but more importantly that you get your life back to normal again.