Health boards ‘failing to report all sex attacks on hospital wards’

Health boards are not ­reporting every sex attack that occurs in hospital wards, campaigners have warned, as new figures show there have been hundreds of assaults in the past five years.

Some 258 people have been sexually assaulted and 15 raped in Scotland’s hospitals during that time.

Campaigners warn these ­figures are “just the tip of the iceberg” as not every health board reports every case.

NHS Lothian has the highest figure for sexual assaults at 41, but admits it only reports cases where victims give it permission to do so.

Last week the board told us: “Incidents can only be reported to the police by individuals themselves.”

This week it said: “We cannot report the crime to the police unless the ­victim gives consent and asks us to support them to make that disclosure.

“If a patient lacks capacity to report an incident, we have a duty of care to assess the situation and take ­appropriate action, which could include reporting an incident to the police.”

Meanwhile, police say they ­investigate every reported attack, but not all are subsequently recorded as a crime.

Following our story last week, MSPs questioned First Minister John Swinney about the issue.

He said: “All instances of violent behaviour, including sexual assault, are against the law and should be immediately reported to the police and dealt with ­appropriately by the justice system.”

But Scottish Conservative ­equalities shadow minister Tess White criticised Swinney for not ordering an immediate inquiry.

She said: “I expected the first minister to be so outraged that he would call for immediate action, but his response was pathetic.

“He should have immediately instructed his health secretary to carry out an inquiry requiring every singe health board to report ever single incident, and Police Scotland to investigate every case. We then need that vital data to be shared transparently. Without the full data, we cannot find the underlying cause.”

Labour’s Claire Baker said: “The Scottish Government has a responsibility to act in response to these reports. While public authorities have statutory and legal obligations to comply with, ‘reminding them’ of this is the minimum action that should be expected.”

Months of work by the Women’s Rights Network Scotland uncovered the figures. Chief researcher Mary Howden said: “Our final figures show 258 sexual assaults and 15 rapes, which included incidents at two private hospitals. There are widespread inconsistencies in reporting which clearly show this is just the tip of a huge iceberg that cannot be ignored.

“Virtually all victims are likely to be women or young girls. Some will be elderly or extremely vulnerable patients. These figures should be sending shock waves across the NHS, and we need to see positive action taken.”

Detective Superintendent Stevie Bertram said: “Every report of sexual assault or rape will be thoroughly investigated. Where there is a sufficiency of evidence, a report will be submitted to the procurator fiscal.”

Health Secretary Neil Gray said: “NHS boards have reporting systems to capture data on ­violence and aggression including sexual assault.

“I strongly encourage staff to report all instances of violent and aggressive behaviour.

“The courts have extensive powers to deal with sexual offending. All instances of such behaviour should be reported and escalated to Police Scotland as quickly as possible.”