FOI requests by Suzy Lamplugh Trust found none of the 41 ICBs who responded could identify any services or staff training they had commissioned for stalking victims.

Only 7% of healthcare professionals felt very confident in their ability to identify a patient who may be experiencing stalking and 85% of healthcare professionals did not know what specialist stalking services existed and where to refer for specialist support.   

Suky Bhaker, chief executive, Suzy Lamplugh Trust, said: ‘Stalking has far-reaching effects on victims' health, but healthcare professionals lack the training and resources to identify it. We are calling on the Government to provide the necessary resources to ensure that healthcare professionals can effectively support victims and work with specialist stalking services to better spot stalking amongst their patients and colleagues.'

Suzy Lamplugh Trust called for the NHS and private sector to: develop national guidance for healthcare professionals to identify and respond to patients who are victims of stalking; commissioning independent specialist stalking training for healthcare practitioners to identify and respond to victims of stalking; and develop internal stalking policies and protocols that address the needs of employees across healthcare systems.  

In addition, the trust called on the Government to allocate £243m ring-fenced funding for specialist stalking support services and urged the Home Office to include a specific cross-departmental multi-agency stalking plan within the forthcoming Tackling VAWG strategy that sets out a whole systems approach to tackling stalking, including the health sector.