Tens of thousands of NHS staff in Scotland have been injured at work in recent years, latest figures from Scottish health boards show.
As The Courier reports, there were 35,372 reported injuries between 2011 and 2013, with staff suffering a whole host of different injuries, including electric shocks, burns, dislocated limbs, crushing injuries, injuries from flying or falling objects, scratches, lacerations, fractures, infections and sprains.
The Liberal Democrats, who brought the information to light, say the data illustrates just how many hazards NHS staff currently have to face on a daily basis, and that more needs to be done to drive the number of injuries down.
Other injuries include physical violence, assaults with a weapon, staff knocked unconscious, punctures with dirty needles and bites – including animal bites.
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.”
Hume added, however, that injuries such as slips, trips and falls are “always preventable” and he called for health boards to do “everything within their power” to ensure staff are appropriately trained to prevent accidents.
“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,” he stressed.
Hume highlighted NHS Lothian, which reported 370 incidents where a member of staff had been bitten.
“It is worrying that violence against staff also remains a high cause of injury,” he said.
