MEDICS have called for police reinforcements to help curb the growing tide of violence and abuse against front-line hospital staff.

The appeal has been made after it was revealed that doctors and nurses at Blackburn Royal Infirmary's casualty department were coming under the increasing threat of violence from patients.

And a crown court also heard how a casualty doctor at Burnley General Hospital feared for her life when she was attacked by a drunken patient.

The case prompted the judge to call for more protection for front-line staff in accident and emergency units.

Today Anne Asher, Blackburn, Hyndburn and Ribble Valley NHS Trust's service manager for accident and emergency and medicine, said the abuse of staff and the threat of violence had become a "terrible problem".

She said: "We would love a police presence in casualty and the level of violence and abuse certainly does warrant it. "Some hospitals in the UK have now got mini police stations providing a 24-hour presence within their accident and emergency departments. Obviously whether that can happen here depends on whether police have the resources.

"It is really the verbal abuse that grinds down the nursing staff. "

Clinical nurse manager Elizabeth Hurley said: "There was one incident recently when a staff nurse was pinned against a wall by a woman patient.

"We should not expect to be threatened at all when we are at work. We have security officers at the reception area, but there is no guarantee they are going to be there when an incident occurs. In an ideal world the best solution would be to have police present as often as possible." On New Year's Eve police officers were put on on stand-by to provide protection to staff in the infirmary's casualty unit from drunken revellers.

The hospital had asked the police to base themselves within accident and emergency, but lack of resources prevented it.

Health managers have also arranged a meeting with security bosses at the hospital to discuss the problems.

They are considering new rules which would allow only one person to accompany a patient into casualty instead of groups of people.

Earlier this week Burnley Crown Court heard how Dr Judith Ngowi was lifted off the floor and pressed against a wall by Denise Austin, 32, who was put on probation for two years after she admitted causing actual bodily harm.

Recorder Robert Marks said: "People who work in hospitals must be protected from conduct of this sort."

The court heard how Dr Ngowi feared for her life when she was grabbed by the throat and could not breathe.

A Lancashire Police spokesman said: "We cannot commit ourselves to having a full-time police presence in a hospital.

"We are always very concerned to hear about attacks on colleagues in the medical profession and if a special need for our presence arose we would consider it sympathetically."

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