Serious assaults against healthcare workers double in a decade: ‘Systems to protect doctors are falling short’
About two healthcare workers are hospitalised each day as a result of injuries on the job, a report shows.
Patients are increasingly lashing out at healthcare workers, with the rate of hospitalisations following an assault doubling over the past decade.
New data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare show that, overall, there were 7416 injuries serious enough to require hospitalisation among healthcare workers between 2015/16 and 2024/25.
Over that period, the rate of hospitalisation among health workers following an assault rose from 4.3 to 8.1 per 100,000, with assault becoming the second most common cause of workplace injury after falls.
The figures do not include those healthcare workers who did not seek treatment or visit a GP after being assaulted, meaning the number of assaults overall is likely much higher.
