How Feeling Unsafe at Work Affects Healthcare Staff

Healthcare professionals provide care in hospitals, clinics and communities, often under considerable pressure. Feeling safe at work also depends on staffing levels, the behaviour of patients and visitors, and access to support throughout a shift.

Peoplesafe’s research report, The Hidden Safety Signal, examines the relationship between feeling unsafe, working behaviour and business performance. Its healthcare findings suggest that safety concerns can affect workforce availability and patient-facing work long before an incident is formally reported.

Healthcare workers report higher levels of feeling unsafe

The report found that 74% of NHS and healthcare respondents had felt unsafe at least once in the previous year, compared with 51% of the general workforce. Healthcare workers were also more likely to report that safety concerns had affected their productivity (45% versus 23%) and mental wellbeing (52% versus 29%).

Employers need to understand when and where healthcare staff feel unsafe, rather than relying on general assurances about workplace safety. A clinician may feel supported on a busy ward but vulnerable while working late, travelling to a patient’s home or moving through an isolated part of a hospital. The time, location and availability of colleagues can change that experience as we heard when interviewing a Clinical Nurse Specialist:

Nothing happened to this worker to report or for her employer to log. But something did happen. She noticed a feeling and remembered is, and the next time a late shift came up, that memory came with her.

Almost one in three healthcare workers turned down work

Almost one in three NHS and healthcare respondents (29%) said they had turned down work as a direct result of feeling unsafe, compared with 16% of the general workforce. A further 14% of healthcare respondents had taken time off because of safety concerns.

This creates additional challenges for healthcare employers already managing staffing shortages. The survey doesn’t quantify how many shifts were lost or establish that improved safety will resolve workforce shortages. It does, however, show that perceptions of safety can influence whether people feel able to take on work.

Staffing itself is part of the problem. In the sector-specific research, 43% of healthcare respondents identified staffing shortages among the incidents or experiences they had encountered. During focus groups, workers repeatedly described having enough colleagues nearby and knowing whom to contact as important sources of reassurance.

Practical support might include reviewing lone working periods, ensuring safe staffing arrangements, providing clear escalation routes and checking whether staff feel comfortable raising concerns. Where risks cannot be eliminated, employees need to know that help is accessible and that a response will follow.

Patient and visitor behaviour adds to safety concerns

Interactions with patients, visitors and members of the public are another source of safety concerns for healthcare workers.

Among healthcare respondents, 49% reported verbal abuse, 39% threatening behaviour, 33% harassment from patients and 31% harassment from visitors or members of the public. These figures refer to different reported experiences and should not be added together.

What the Employment Rights Act means for third-party harassment

From 30 October 2026, the Employment Rights Act 2025 introduced a duty on employers not to permit third-party harassment of employees where they have failed to take all reasonable steps to prevent it. For healthcare employers, third parties can include patients, visitors and members of the public.

The provisions cover harassment within the meaning of the Equality Act 2010, rather than every instance of verbal abuse or aggression. Employers should assess relevant risks, maintain appropriate reporting and response procedures, and review the controls they have in place. ACAS guidance on third-party harassment offers further detail. Personal safety technology can support those controls but does not by itself establish legal compliance.

What helps healthcare employees feel safer?

The healthcare focus groups did not ask for technology alone. Staff described the value of nearby colleagues, managers who listen, clear procedures, and confidence that assistance will arrive when needed. Healthcare employers should consider four areas when reviewing employee safety.

• People: Ensure colleagues have access to support, particularly during shifts or tasks that involve working alone.
• Response: Reliable access to help and clarity about who will respond when concerns are raised.
• Procedures: Establish clear reporting processes, practical training, effective handovers and appropriate lone-working arrangements.
• Culture: Take concerns seriously, respond to feedback and communicate any improvements made.

How personal safety technology can support healthcare workers

The research found that 85% of NHS and healthcare workers said a personal safety solution would make them feel safer, compared with 66% across the general workforce. Healthcare workers want reassurance that they can access help when they need it. This does not mean a device can replace colleagues, training, or appropriate staffing.

Peoplesafe provides NHS staff safety services that allow employees to raise an alert through a monitored solution and access a 24/7 Alarm Receiving Centre. The appropriate approach depends on the role, working environment, and risk assessment, including whether staff work in acute settings, travel between sites, or make home visits.

NHS organisations have already implemented Peoplesafe solutions in different ways. Published case studies include:

Healthcare safety starts with listening to staff

Incident and injury records alone do not tell employers how safe their staff feel. Employers also need to understand when healthcare workers feel vulnerable, how they change their work as a result, and whether the support available matches the risks they face.

The research found that 29% of healthcare workers had turned down work because they felt unsafe, while 85% said a personal safety solution would make them feel safer. Employers should consider these findings when reviewing workforce availability, staffing arrangements and employee safety, rather than treating safety concerns as a separate wellbeing issue.

Read The Hidden Safety Signal for the comprehensive research, healthcare findings and recommendations.