Occupational violence against staff in the perioperative environment

Abstract

Occupational violence is a common problem in many workplaces, including health service organisations. In the perioperative environment, we are acutely aware of the problem of lateral violence, such as bullying, harassment and incivility. But as a specialty we rarely acknowledge violence perpetrated against us by patients, relatives or visitors. Anecdotally, this violence has been steadily increasing over the past decade and peaked during the current COVID-19 pandemic. Perioperative nurse leaders must be aware of the risks and implement appropriate mitigation strategies.