More staff at the Royal Devon University Healthcare Trust faced violence from the public last year, new survey figures suggest.

Health think tank The King's Fund said the recent NHS staff survey findings will be "cause for concern" as ministers rely on the NHS workforce to deliver plans for improvement and reform.

Figures from the survey show 13.1% of respondents at Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust said they experienced at least one incident of violence from patients, service users, their relatives or other members of the public last year.

It was up from 12.1% in 2023.

Meanwhile, 21.4% of staff said they experienced harassment, bullying or abuse from the public.

The overall level of violence worsened across England, with 14.4% of staff experiencing violence from the public last year, up from 13.9%.

The proportion of those who dealt with bullying and harassment by the public remained at 25%.

Suzie Bailey, director of leadership and organisational development at The King's Fund, said: "The findings demonstrate that working in the health service continues to look like an unattractive career, with many NHS staff feeling undervalued and overstretched."

She added the upcoming refresh to the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan will be a chance for the Government to "reset how it plans to train, recruit and retain staff".

"This snapshot of the experience of NHS staff comes ahead of the Government publishing its plans to reform the service. Ministers will be relying on the NHS workforce to actually deliver much of its plans for improvement, and these results will be cause for concern," she said.

Across the country, levels of unwanted sexual behaviour from the public rose slightly to 8.8% and the proportion of staff experiencing discrimination from the public also increased to 9.3%.

In Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, 9.9% of staff said they experienced unwanted sexual behaviour from the public, while 6.1% experienced discrimination.

Danny Mortimer, chief executive of NHS Employers, said the survey shows improvement in many areas but added maintaining progress is important.

He added it is "distressing" that indicators on discrimination have worsened.

He said: "It remains of profound concern that the experience of black and minority ethnicity staff in the NHS is still poorer than for their white colleagues: the continued experience of racism in our workplaces is a stain on our aspiration to be better employers.

"It is also worrying to see that levels of unwanted sexual behaviour rose from the public but fell slightly from other staff. All staff should be able to work without fear of unwanted sexual behaviour, whether from colleagues or patients."

He added the worsened level of violence is also a concern, but noted the improvement in staff confidence in reporting the violence.

Of the staff in the Royal Devon University Healthcare Trust who experienced violence from the public or other staff, 72.1% reported it.

Dr Navina Evans, chief workforce, training and education officer for NHS England, said: "It's totally unacceptable that NHS staff are facing physical violence, sexual assault and discrimination from patients and the public while at work – and I'd urge anyone affected to report incidents to their employer and the police.

"We know that the most important way to stamp out incidents of unacceptable behaviour is to give people the confidence to report it, and it is important that the voice of every member of NHS staff is heard through these surveys and acted upon."

She added the NHS sexual safety charter has been adopted by every NHS trust in England to enforce a zero-tolerance approach.