The Royal College of Nursing has come forward to urge legislators and employers to deal with the issue. The union says one third of nurses tend to get attacked at some point in their career and some nurses end up leaving the profession.
As parliamentary elections are due in Scotland next year, the RCN made its formal claims on the second day of their conference in Clydebank; it is beginning a campaign that attempts to tackle the problem of violence against the staff from the public.
An assault against a healthcare worker in a hospital setting can warrant a nine-month prison sentence and fines of $9573 under recently approved legislation.
RCN Scotland board's chairwoman, Jane McCready said it had come across troubling reports that some managers discourage staff from reporting incidents of violence at hospitals.
However, Health Minister Andy Kerr has denied those claims.
"What worries me most is the assertion that management aren't dealing with it at local level and that is unacceptable," Kerr tells BBC Radio program, Good Morning Scotland.
He said, "I will again make that clear to our chief executives and chairs that any member of staff has the right to work in a violence-free environment," adding, "we need to do our utmost to protect them and if something happens it is our job to ensure that we take action and learn any lessons that can be learned."
McCready tells BBC news, "All nurses will be affected by violence and aggression at some stage in their career."
"One in three will be attacked themselves, while their colleagues will have witnessed these incidents and may have had to come to their aid. This cannot be allowed to continue," she said.
"Those who remain often have to deal with staff shortages while the person who has been attacked is receiving treatment or is off work," McCready added.
"Such high levels of sickness absence and the loss of staff will inevitably have an impact on patient care."
