Nurses call for more protection

The RCN in Scotland is calling for improvements to the legislation

The Royal College of Nursing in Scotland is calling on the Scottish Executive to tackle the level of violence faced by community nurses.

The union has urged the SNP government to fulfil its manifesto commitment and improve legislation for staff working alone in the community as.

The call comes after a UK-wide survey found 33% of nurses had been assaulted or harassed in the last two years.

The RCN said it was often patients' relatives who threatened nurses.

About 900 nurses took part in the survey, including 90 from Scotland.

RCN Scotland director, Theresa Fyffe, said a move by ministers to expand current legislation would send out an important message to community-based staff.

She added: "I hope the cabinet secretary for health and wellbeing can find some time early in the next parliamentary session to deliver on that commitment.

We have had nurses who have been unable to return to community nursing and some have had to leave nursing altogether Anne Thomson RCN Scotland

"Unfortunately it would seem that not all those who work alone are seeing the benefit of these guidelines being put into practice on the front-line.

"We have to have consistent policies in place for all lone workers regardless of where they work and what team they are in."

The survey found that 82% of respondents said their employer did have a lone worker policy, but 17% had not seen it.

It also found that 35% of the nurses who took part in the survey said they sometimes felt unsafe or at risk while working alone.

Nurses 'traumatised'

Anne Thomson, acting deputy director of RCN Scotland, told the BBC's Good Morning Scotland programme: "We have had many nurses phoning who have been very intimidated by relatives in the home, terrified to be honest.

"We are increasingly finding that it's relatives and friends who are in the home at the time."

She said that some staff had been "absolutely traumatised" by such treatment.

"We have had nurses who have been unable to return to community nursing and some have had to leave nursing altogether."