Unison says action is needed to tackle violence against staff

The poll was carried out by NFO System 3 for public service union Unison.

Almost 1,000 people were asked whether they thought violent attacks on staff delivering public services should be treated as serious assault.

Of those questioned, 94% said that they strongly agreed and 5% said that they agreed.

However, Unison said the Scottish Executive proposals only promise to treat attacks on emergency workers as assaults.

Scottish health organiser Jim Devine said: "We are calling on the Scottish Executive to abandon their complacency on violence against staff and to strengthen their anti-social behaviour legislation.

Levels of back-up

"The Scottish public are clearly saying that attacks on any staff delivering public services must be treated as serious assaults."

He said that under the current proposals two workers on the same job could receive different levels of back-up if they were attacked.

"It will also be very difficult to determine when emergency work stops and other work starts," he said.

It is time the executive dealt with the increasing problem of violence against people who are delivering our public services Jim Devine Unison

"Social workers, nursery nurses, planners, environmental health officers, health visitors and many, many more would not be considered to be 'traditional' emergency workers.

"Yet all of these staff have been attacked in the past."

The union will hold a conference on health and safety in Stirling on Thursday, where it will announce results of a survey of NHS trusts.

"Unison will be asking why there are no standard forms to record and report physical and verbal abuse and no standard back-up, even within the health service, let alone across the public services as a whole," added Mr Devine.

"Good practice in some areas is being dissipated by bad practice in others.