South Australia’s healthcare workers are facing increasingly alarming levels of violence and aggression, with new figures revealing more than 5,300 incidents affecting staff in a single year, including workers being deliberately kicked, bitten, punched and pushed.
The disturbing statistics have prompted the State Government to bring together healthcare professionals, unions, emergency services, researchers and community advocates for a major roundtable in Adelaide today, Monday 2 November, aimed at finding practical ways to better protect frontline workers.
According to SA Health’s latest Safety and Quality Report, there were 17,895 challenging behaviour incidents recorded across the state’s health system during 2024–25, alongside 16,818 Code Black incidents, which involve situations requiring an emergency security response.
Both figures were significantly higher than those recorded two years earlier, highlighting the growing pressures faced by staff working in hospitals and other healthcare settings.
Of the reported challenging behaviour incidents, 5,388 affected a healthcare worker, with 39 per cent involving patient behaviours directed at staff.
More concerningly, 52 per cent of incidents affecting healthcare workers involved staff being deliberately kicked, bitten, punched or pushed.
Health and Wellbeing Minister Blair Boyer called the roundtable after hearing distressing accounts from frontline workers, including incidents involving death threats, knives being pulled on staff and a nurse whose hair was ripped out, leaving a permanent bald spot.
“Violence and aggression towards healthcare workers is completely unacceptable,” Minister Boyer said.
“Our healthcare workers dedicate their lives to caring for South Australians, often in highly stressful and complex circumstances, and they should never be subjected to abuse, threats or violence while doing their job.”
The Minister also warned of the longer-term consequences for the state’s healthcare workforce.
“If we don’t do something about attacks on staff, we will get to the point where we won’t have enough staff.”
The day-long Creating Safer Healthcare Workplaces Roundtable will examine the circumstances contributing to violence across the healthcare system, from ambulance responses and emergency departments through to inpatient hospital care.
Participants will consider where incidents are occurring, what measures are already in place and how health services can better prevent and respond to threatening behaviour.
Discussions will also focus on de-escalation training, security arrangements, staff reporting procedures and opportunities for greater cooperation between government agencies, hospitals and the broader community.
SA Health has already introduced a range of safety improvements, including security upgrades at metropolitan and regional hospitals, expanded CCTV coverage, improved duress alarm technology and stronger access controls.
However, the latest figures have reinforced the need to examine whether further protections are required.
SA Health Chief Executive Robyn Lindsay said the safety of healthcare workers was essential to delivering quality patient care.
“Our staff come to work each day dedicated to caring for others, and they have the right to feel safe, valued and respected in their workplace.”
“We cannot deliver high-quality care when staff are subjected to abuse or feel unsafe. Aggressive and abusive behaviour is unacceptable and has no place in any healthcare setting.”
The roundtable is expected to help identify practical actions to strengthen staff safety across South Australia’s health system, with a focus on preventing incidents before they escalate and improving responses when violence does occur.
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