Hundreds of thousands of NHS staff in England have experienced violence, harassment, bullying, or racism, according to the health service's 2025 staff survey. The survey found that one in seven workers faced violence from patients or the public, while over a quarter reported harassment, bullying, or abuse—the highest levels in three years.
With the NHS in England employing 1.5 million people, this equates to approximately 217,000 experiencing violence and over 380,000 reporting harassment and bullying in 2025 alone. Sexual harassment also reached record levels, with nearly one in ten NHS workers, a third of ambulance staff, and more than one in ten nurses and midwives reporting unwanted sexual behaviour in the past year.
Underreporting remains a concern: while three-quarters of staff said they would report violent incidents, barely half would report harassment or abuse. The findings follow a Guardian investigation revealing that NHS trusts disclosed nearly 300,000 incidents of physical violence and 50,000 of sexual harm in the three years to April 2025. However, eight trusts reported fewer than ten violence cases, and 45 trusts recorded 20 or fewer sexual harm incidents.
The survey also highlights racism and discrimination. One in five Black and minority ethnic staff reported abuse, bullying, or harassment from patients or the public, compared with one in 20 white staff. One in seven Black and minority ethnic staff faced similar behaviour from colleagues, double the rate for white staff. Nearly one in ten workers reported discrimination from patients or the public, the highest figure on record.
Prof Nicola Ranger, general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, called the findings a “national emergency for staff safety,” describing a “torrent of violence, sexual assaults, discrimination and abuse” faced by staff. Sarah Woolnough of The King’s Fund said: “You can’t run a health service on hostility.” Danny Mortimer of NHS England called the figures “deeply worrying” and pledged to improve support and reporting confidence.
