Nurse threatened with gun as tensions rise over A&E wait times

Another nurse was knocked unconscious when a patient punched her in the head

Nurses are facing "abhorrent" levels of violence in Accident and Emergency departments, including being punched, spat at, and even having a gun pointed at them, a union says.

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) said that prolonged A&E waits are also fuelling anger among patients, even those not typically prone to violence.

The RCN stressed that more must be done to protect NHS staff. Without action to tackle long waits, "corridor care," and "chronic"staffing problems, violence rates will continue to rise, it said.

The warning follows RCN Freedom of Information (FOI) requests to NHS hospitals with emergency departments, which revealed increasing rates of violence towards staff.

Figures from 89 hospital trusts, out of a possible 129, revealed there were 4,054 cases of physical violence against A&E staff recorded in 2024, up from 2,093 in 2019, the RCN said.

One senior A&E nurse based in east London told the RCN she had seen colleagues punched and kicked, and described how a colleague had a gun pointed at them.

She herself has been spat at by a patient and threatened with an acid attack.

There were 4,054 cases of physical violence against A&E staff recorded in 2024 across 89 hospital trusts (PA Archive)

“Even patients you would expect to be placid are becoming irate because of just how long they have to wait,” Rachelle McCarthy, a senior charge nurse from the East Midlands, said.

“You can only imagine the behaviour of those who are already prone to violence.”

Ms McCarthy also told the union she was punched “square in the face” by a “drunk, six foot two bloke”.

Another nurse said: “It’s not going to help with our retention and recruitment if you think you’re going to be clobbered every shift.”

Sarah Tappy, a senior sister in an A&E in east London, was knocked unconscious after being punched in the head by a patient.

“The violence is awful,” she said. “And it’s just constant. Nurses, doctors, receptionists – none of us feels safe.”

Nicola Ranger says nurses face ‘a rising tide of violence’ (Supplied/Royal College of Nursing)

RCN general secretary and chief executive Professor Nicola Ranger said: “Nursing staff not only go to work underpaid and undervalued but now face a rising tide of violence.

“It leads to both physical and mental scarring, lengthy time off and sometimes staff never returning.

“Measures to keep staff safe day-to-day are crucial, but the stark reality is that unless the Government does something about lengthy waits, corridor care and understaffed nursing teams, more nursing staff will become victims of this utterly abhorrent behaviour.

“Left unaddressed, this could see plans to reform the NHS fail completely.”

The Department of Health and Social Care has been approached for comment.