The head of the NHS has highlighted the prevalence of domestic abuse faced by health staff in the UK as she also condemned the “abhorrent behaviour across society”.
Amanda Pritchard, chief executive of the health service – Britain’s biggest employer with more than 1.5 million staff – said the #MeToo movement had helped shine a light on abuse within the care system, but also said there was more to be done.
Latest figures show that more than 50,000 NHS staff revealed that they had experienced domestic abuse over the course of a single year.
Ms Pritchard made her intervention as she leant her support to the The Independent’s Brick by Brick campaign, which is raising money to build safe houses for victims of domestic abuse.
She and the board of NHS England have joined figures such as Sir Keir Starmer and the Queen, as well as readers of The Independent in backing and donating to the cause, which has raised more than £500,000 so far.
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Writing exclusively for The Independent she said: “Not only does this incredibly thoughtful campaign provide a way out for people affected by domestic violence but it has also started an important national conversation about domestic violence.
“The #MeToo movement has powerfully called out this type of abhorrent behaviour across society, and we have seen it within our own NHS workforce, where colleagues and staff tell us they have started to feel a shift in attitudes, thanks to recent investigations by The Independent and others who have shone a stark light on the issue.”
The figures on domestic abuse suffered by NHS staff, by former NHS England director Kate Davies last year, said that of the 51,355 staff who came forward, 44,825 were women and 6,530 were men.
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Ms Pritchard said: “We are still at the start of our journey to reducing harmful abusive behaviours in the NHS and more action is needed to ensure that all staff – especially women who are more likely to be affected – can come to work every day, safe from misogyny, violence and abuse.”
A report from The Cavell Trust in 2016 suggests nurses, midwives and healthcare assistants are three times more likely to have experienced domestic abuse by a partner or ex-partner compared to the general population.
As she spoke out, leading doctors also backed the campaign warning that services such as A&E and GP services frequently see the “devastating” impacts of domestic violence in patients.
Dr Adrian Boyle, president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM), said it was a “sad inevitability” that some of the NHS’s 1.5 million staff would be affected by domestic abuse.
“Sadly, domestic abuse is a regrettably common feature in many of our patient’s lives and it can place an enormous burden of stress, fear, and ill health on the survivor,” he said.
“Some types of abuse may be clearly evident, but others are less so and we as clinicians should be prepared to start conversations and encourage patients to consider the emergency department as a safe space – as well as being able to connect people with dedicated specialist support services.
“It is essential that employers have good policies to support staff survivors, that are publicised and followed.”
Dr Boyle said it was crucial that those abused felt safe enough to flee and had somewhere to go to start anew.
He added: “RCEM is pleased to support The Independent and Refuge’s Brick by Brick campaign which will provide vital safe spaces to enable this recovery process to begin.”
Earlier this year, NHS England launched new guidance for NHS organisations aimed at addressing domestic abuse and sexual violence in the healthcare sector, this includes every hospital having a helpline and domestic abuse and sexual violence leads.
Leanne Patrick a nurse specialising in domestic and sexual violence, said, healthcare employers are “pretty reticent to ask about domestic violence, of the NHS workforce and nurses in particular”.
She said: “As a nurse, I think there’s a lot of stigma around trying to raise when you’re struggling in any particular way, whether it’s mental health or if you’ve been affected by sexual violence and domestic abuse. From my experience, people aren’t getting good responses from their managers when they do disclose these things.”
Ms Patrick gave examples of staff who had been given just two weeks of compassionate leave when trying to leave an abusive relationship, due to attitudes that domestic violence is a “personal issue”.
“I encounter staff who are affected by this, they are burning into their annual leave and their sick leave. They’re very rarely given adequate compassionate leave to get to a place of safety, to get time off for court dates. When it comes to that, it’s all put on to them in their personal time.”
Professor Kamila Hawthorne, chair of the Royal College of GPs, said the aspirations of the Brick by Brick campaign to ensure every woman who fears for her life, regardless of her circumstances “would mean GPs have somewhere to signpost women in such situations to, and this would alleviate huge levels of distress for some of our most vulnerable patients”.
She said: “We know that millions of people, mostly women, face domestic abuse in some form every year and as GPs we see the devastating effects that has on our patients.
“Patients may not come to see their GP because they are experiencing domestic abuse, but the symptoms are often evident, and by offering a space for them to have safe and confidential conversations, we are often the first to identify signs of abuse and work hard to offer support and direct them to services that may help.”
Please donate now to the Brick by Brick campaign, launched by The Independent and charity Refuge, to help raise £300,000 to build a safe space for women where they can escape domestic abuse, rebuild their lives and make a new future. Text BRICK to 70560 to donate £15.
If you or someone you know is affected by domestic abuse, you can contact Refuge’s national domestic abuse helpline for free, confidential support at 0808 2000 247.
