SOMEONE who attacks a doctor, nurse or paramedic has "almost a 100% chance of getting away with it," opposition politicians have suggested.

New figures show only 1.5% of attacks on NHS workers resulted in a conviction in 2017 to 2018.

Data shows there were 2922 physical attacks on doctors, nurses and paramedics working for NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde last year, the highest of any Scottish boards, and 12,759 across Scotland.

Over 2017-2018 190 people were convicted under the new Emergency Service Workers act, the lowest number in six years according to the Scottish Conservatives.

The legislation doubled the maximum sentence from six to 12 months in prison for assaulting an emergency worker. It covers doctors, nurses and paramedics as well as police, prison officers, custody officers, fire service personnel, search and rescue services and paramedics.

Read more: NHS staff in Glasgow suffer more attacks than any other healthcare workers

However, the act does not include domestics, nurse assistants, catering workers, clerical workers, GP staff or anyone in social care, which was highlighted by Unison in its submission during the consultation process.

Unison said the latest figures, obtained by the Conservatives under freedom of information laws, were evidence that the act was not protecting a wide enough cross section of NHS workers.

Scottish Conservative shadow health secretary Miles Briggs said: “It would be unrealistic to expect all reports of NHS assaults to end up in the court room.

“But the fact just 1.5 per cent of physical assaults result in a conviction is a real insult to our brave healthcare workers.

“Progress on tackling violence against NHS staff will never be made unless we start getting tough on those responsible for it.

“As it stands, under this soft-touch SNP government, someone who attacks an NHS worker has nearly a 100 per cent chance of getting away with it.”

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Anyone found guilty under the legislation faces up to a year in jail and a fine of up to £10,000.

A spokesman for Unison Scotland: “Unison cautiously welcomed the emergency workers act because we weren’t wholly convinced that the legislation alone would be enough to protect the limited number of staff it relates too.

“What is really needed is for health boards and politicians to ensure that there is adequate numbers of properly trained staff; every incident of violence or abuse should be investigated and an action plan response developed to minimise the chance of re occurrence and there should be an unequivocal commitment to prosecute people who assault all public service workers.”

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “These figures cover a wide range of incidents and the conviction statistics relate only to prosecutions under the Emergency Workers Act, therefore excluding where serious attacks on staff may have been prosecuted using other offences such as assault, which allow for lengthier sentences."

A spokeswoman for NHSGGC said: "We have a specific policy on violence reduction and are committed to reducing and deterring such incidents while ensuring staff are trained to deal with situations when they do arise.

"Where staff are assaulted or abused while at work, whether in our hospitals or in the community, we fully support them and encourage them to pursue their abusers through the criminal justice system."