1300 Attacks On Social Work Staff

Fife Council’s social work staff have suffered more than 1300 physical assaults in the past five years. According to figures from the local authority, staff working in the service have reported 1304 acts of violence by service users since 2002.

Staff also reported 676 incidents of verbal abuse in the same five year period.

Last year alone, staff reported 273 acts of violence against them, and 187 incidents of verbal abuse.

Staff affected include a broad range of service workers such as social workers, home carers, those working within care homes, day care staff and receptionists.

Social work services chief Stephen Moore said the figures were low when compared with the amount of contact staff have with clients – and he insisted any acts of violence were dealt with seriously.

“The purpose of the social work service is to strike a balance between protecting children and young people and adults and older people who need support, and enabling them to enjoy ordinary living,” he explained.

“It also provides support to offenders to change their offending behaviour.

“The service therefore provides protection to individuals who are at risk of harm from others, themselves, or at risk of harming others.

“At the time of social work involvement, service users can feel vulnerable and affected by the circumstances that they are experiencing in their lives.

“However, the number of reported incidents of abuse and violence are low when set in the context of the amount of contact that social work staff have with service users.

“Some service users receive care and support 24/7.”

Mr Moore said staff are provided with a range of support to enable them to carry out their work safely.

These include health and safety procedures, including those for lone working, carrying out risk assessments before meeting with service users, and a safety system for lone working.

Staff are also trained on how to identify situations where there may be a risk from service users.

Mr Moore added: “Where there are incidents arising, staff are provided with support through their manager, but also through the counselling service provided by the Council.

“Any incidents of violence or abuse against social work staff are taken very seriously and where appropriate are reported to the police.”

Councillor Tim Brett, chairman of the social work and health committee, agreed that incidents of physical and verbal abuse must be taken seriously.

He said: “It is a matter of concern if any of our staff are subjected to physical violence or verbal abuse.

“However the figure is relatively small in relation to the large number of people our staff support.

“It’s also important to point out that a lot of the violence is linked to the individuals’ disability or illness.”

He added: ” There is always more we can do to reduce these statistics and we are committed to training and supporting staff in this area.”