Care staff report being 'hit with Zimmer frames' and 'cut with razors' as one in two are attacked at work
Staff reported being hit with zimmer frames, cut with razors and having hot water thrown over them as violence against care workers is laid bare
Half of care workers have suffered physical or verbal attacks over the past three years at work, new research suggests.
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A survey of 1,600 members of the GMB union showed one in two reported incidents of staff being headbutted, strangled, punched and kicked.
Respondents also reported being hit with walking sticks, Zimmer frames, shoes, brooms, cut with razors and had hot water thrown over them.
Racial abuse featured heavily in the survey, often from family members rather than residents, said the union.
The findings were being discussed at the GMB’s annual conference in Blackpool on Monday.
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One worker said they were "battered, stabbed with a bread knife, hot tea thrown over me, hit with a plate and cups," while another reported being bitten "so hard she began bleeding".
Responding to the findings, Will Dalton, GMB national officer, said: “Sadly, violence is a part of daily working life for our hard-working carers.
“They put up with horrifying levels of abuse, on poverty wages, because they care deeply about their job and the people they look after.
“As a society, we owe it to these dedicated professionals to make sure they are paid enough to live a decent life.
“When attacks do happen, they must be taken seriously and backed to the hilt by their employers.”
In 2023/24, violence accounted for 39 per cent of all reported workplace injuries in the residential care sector, compared with 9 per cent across the workforce as a whole in Britain.
Care workers who participated in the union’s 2025 survey on violence in care workplaces reported an array of violence.
One said: “I’m battered at least once a month,” while another reported being "hit with an unopened can of Irn-Bru".
Another respondent said, "A patient knocked out eight of my teeth", with one worker saying they were "punched in the breast by a resident who used to be a professional boxer.”