HEALTH
State of shame as attacks on WA health workers laid bare
WA healthcare staff were subject to violence and aggression once every two hours last year.
New figures from the Department of Health reveal frontline workers faced more than 4300 instances of physical violence and aggression in 2025 — about 12 every day.
Biting, spitting, scratching, kicking, punching, shoving, tripping and grabbing were among feral behaviours inflicted on WA healthcare workers on a daily basis.
There were also sexual assaults — including indecent physical contact and unwanted sexual advances.
It’s the first time WA Health has collated such data. Prior to 2025, the data was held by each health service provider under inconsistent definitions, making comparison impossible.