More than a quarter of NHS staff at Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals struggled with harassment, bullying and abuse last year, figures show.

27 percent of staff at Epsom and St Helier reportedly experienced harassment, bullying and abuse from patients, relatives or the public in 2017, according to the NHS Staff Survey.

A further 25 percent said they had been abused, bullied or harassed by another member of staff.

Another 38 percent reported having felt unwell at least once due to work related stress in the past year.

Over half said they attended work despite feeling unwell because of pressure from their managers, colleagues or themselves in the last three months.

The survey went out to nearly 1.1 million staff in trusts, clinical commissioning groups and commissioning support units across the country.

Around 487,200 employees took part in the staff survey, which asked various questions related to job satisfaction.

Epsom and St Helier chief executive Daniel Elkeles said: “Our doctors, nurses and support staff all work incredibly hard to help others in their hour of need, and so it’s simply unacceptable that a small minority of people would choose to behave in an aggressive or threatening manner.

“We have a zero tolerance approach to any kind of abusive behaviour, both verbal and physical, and have a dedicated policy which outlines measures staff can take if they experience abuse at work.

“I would like to take this opportunity to say a huge thank you to our staff. They do an amazing job, sometimes in very difficult situations.”