NHS staff in Dorset reported being assaulted thousands of times over a five year period, with one year seeing staff at one trust reporting almost five attacks a day.

From April 2010 to April 2015, figures show that NHS staff working at Dorset County Hospital NHS Trust (DCH) and Dorset HealthCare University Foundation Trust (Dorset HealthCare) reported 5,190 physical assaults.

The majority of these took place at Dorset HealthCare, which has reported a rate of assaults per 1,000 staff far above the national average for each of the years during that period.

The figures have been revealed by the NHS Business Service Authority.

The number of assaults at DCH fell well below the national average for each of the five years.

Dorset HealthCare provides local services across the county, including Weymouth Community Hospital and employs around 5,000 members of staff.

In 2012/13 staff reported 1,679 assaults at Dorset HealthCare, the equivalent of almost five assaults per day.

In 2010/11 there was 381 recorded assaults per 1,000 members of staff at Dorset HealthCare, more than eight times higher than the national average.

A spokesman for Dorset HealthCare said: “We take assaults on our staff extremely seriously, and are constantly working to minimise such incidents as much as possible. Our figures may seem high, but Trusts which specialise in the care of older people and mental health patients almost always have a higher incidence of this problem.

"In fact, between 2012 and 2015 the number of assaults on Dorset HealthCare fell by almost half, the biggest decrease anywhere in the country. This was due to better monitoring and analysis of incidents – which allowed us to more fully understand the causes behind them – together with improved training for staff and the targeting of ‘hotspots’ where there were repeated problems."

Comparing 2015/16 figures with 2011/12 also shows that Dorset HealthCare has seen one of the biggest drops in the country for the number of assaults, with the number of assaults falling by half.

DCH, consistently reported figures well below the national average.

Dorset County Hospital’s security lead Scot Sherrard said: “Whilst we are encouraged to see that these figures have not risen drastically since last year, any incident involving injury is unacceptable.

"We strive to keep these figures as low as possible and will continue to look at any new initiatives to include in the security strategy. We take all assaults seriously and operate a policy of zero tolerance.

“We have a clear policy in relation to violence and aggression and implement measures within this possible when required. This includes patients or visitors being formally warned as to their conduct, or their access to the hospital site being restricted. Emergency Department staff have personal attack alarms readily available to enable them to alert colleagues to a developing situation.

“We have a positive working relationship with Dorset Police and this provides support to staff promptly when required. A programme of early intervention by hospital security/portering teams and swift response from the police are considered to be the main reason why the recorded incidents remain low and assault towards staff avoided.

“Safety and security are issues that the hospital takes very seriously. We are currently reviewing the number of staff trained in safe practice associated with lone working and disengagement techniques are currently under review.”

Dorset Healthcare says a fresh approach has enabled it to dramatically reduce the number of assaults on staff.

A total of 433 violent incidents were reported across the trust during 2015/16, compared to 1,100 back in 2011/12, which marks a fall of more than 60 percent.

Comparatively, during the same period, the number of physical assaults reported by NHS staff nationally increased by almost 19 percent.

The trust’s security team, SAFE, tackled this issue by identifying problem areas and examining the factors that led to attacks by patients or members of the public.

It established a security advisory group which meets every two months to analyse incident reports, looking at sites where the most incidents occur, persistent aggressors and the possible causes of violent behaviour.

The team also carried out a review of lone working arrangements, introducing new staff training programmes and setting up regular liaison meetings with Dorset Police.

Roger Ringham, head of SAFE, said: “We are really pleased that we have been able to make significant reductions in assaults against staff. Violence against staff is simply unacceptable, however we realise there is still work to be done.

“Although the majority of cases that arise can be dealt with by other means, we want to make it clear that violence against staff will not be tolerated and we will prosecute if necessary.”