Te Whatu Ora data shows big jump in reported assaults on Auckland hospital workers
Monday, 2 February 2026
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Reported assaults against Auckland hospital workers have more than tripled in two years.
Nurses attribute the rise to under-staffing and growing frustration over hours-long waits for care, but Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora says it instead reflects an improvement in encouraging staff to report assaults.
Data from Te Whatu Ora shows reported assaults have risen nationwide, rising from 2820 in 2022 to 4113 in 2024, while Auckland has increased from 371 to 1170 across the same time frame.
The number of reported assaults requiring time off work is up from 136 in 2022 to 202 in 2024.
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NZNO Primary Health Care College chair Tracey Morgan said the abuse from patients felt “uncontrollable” and she did not feel safe at work.
Patients waiting weeks to be seen were blocking up emergency department waiting rooms, and she said they were fed up and angry.
The abuse was often exacerbated by mental health issues, drugs and alcohol.
“There's not much [the healthcare workers] can do. But that doesn't matter. At the end of the day, the patients, in their eyes, they need to be seen and that's our job.”
She recalled the time one of her nurse colleagues was beaten up by a patient who was irritated and had to take six months off work and undergo two surgeries.
“At the end of the day, we just want to do our duty of care at any cost and sometimes it’s for your life.”
Chronic staffing shortages and an outdated funding model meant clinics had been forced to shut or reduce their hours in recent years.
Morgan said the GPs in her area were not taking on any new patients.
A Waikato Hospital Delegate and ED nurse who would not be named said the increase did not surprise them, recalling the time they were punched in the face by a patient who was waiting for hours in the emergency department for treatment of a broken bone.
They described the patient as aggressive, amped up and under the influence.
After leaving the waiting room twice due to frustration over the long wait, the patient returned a third time, approached the front desk and struck the nurse through a gap in the glass. The nurse said security did not intervene.
The delegate said it was “glaringly obvious” that the more people had to sit for long periods in waiting rooms the more they were going to become angry and stressed, and said verbal abuse was a daily occurrence.
“A significant amount of it is the inability for people to be able to access the healthcare they want in a time they consider appropriate.
“If you’re short on staff, communication falls over ‒rather than ask nicely what's going on, you get the aggressive ‘why aren't you helping?’”
The delegate said while there had been an increase in security, it had not led to a reduction in assaults as wait times increased.
She said many staff did not report incidents, mainly verbal abuse, due to a perception that it took too long.
“It’s just kind of every day stuff, like, why do you need to write it down?”
Robyn Shearer, Health NZ’s executive national director of people and culture and health and safety, said the main contributor of the increase was down to improved reporting and better engagement with staff.
“Encouraging this reporting will help us to hear incidents, apply appropriate controls, support our staff and build a culture of safety,” she said.
Encouragement included reminding staff to attend required training sessions and working closely with people leaders, unions, and Health and Safety representatives to make sure staff know how to report incidents.
Patients impaired by delirium, pain, medication side effects, and many other conditions could result in unpredictable behaviour.
“We cannot prevent all these issues from occurring but have robust processes in place to manage them, minimising the risk of harm to staff and preventing further escalation.”
Health NZ has more than 3800 health and safety representatives.
Health Minister Simeon Brown said any form of violence and abuse directed at health workers is “completely unacceptable”.
He said health workers worked tirelessly to care for patients in emergency departments and hospitals every day and deserved to come to work feeling safe and to be treated with respect.
Hospital security has been strengthened over the past two years with a $31 million boost to security for Health NZ’s emergency departments committed to in Budget 2024.
The funding increased security in eight emergency departments, boosted surge capacity and provided extra training.
Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said nurses and other hospital staff should not have to put up with violence.
“At the heart of this problem is the fact that under this Government, getting the healthcare you need takes longer and is more expensive.”
She said hospitals were overwhelmed and under-staffed and National’s cuts to healthcare meant hospitals could not hire the staff they urgently needed.