THE number of violent attacks on hospital workers increased last year and is above the national average.

In a staff survey, 18 per cent of employees from St Helens and Whiston hospitals said they had experienced physical violence at least once at the hands of patients, relatives or the public in the past 12 months.

The national average for hospital staff who experienced physical violence in the same period is 14 per cent, less than three out of every 20 staff members.

Anthony Lockhart, branch secretary at Unison St Helens & Knowsley, called for a culture change and said the public need to show more respect for NHS staff.

He said: "Staff are physically assaulted - punched, kicked, scratched, have even had things like fire extinguishers thrown at them - all the time.

"It is increasing. A lot of it isn't even reported by nurses. Some take it as part of the job - but it shouldn't be."

He added: "Staff get trained in conflict resolution and we have a zero tolerance policy - the trust encourages staff to adhere to it and report injuries.

"But it's time consuming to report abuse - if you're under pressure and short-staffed, you could face the option of giving a patient medication or reporting abuse."

He said: "Some patients who are unwell lash out and, as nursing is a caring profession, some nurses just accept it. It goes on all the time – not just physical, but verbal. It happens on a daily basis.

"Nurses face abuse in the outpatient department because of waiting times – it's not their fault but they are in the firing line."

The staff survey was completed by more than half of the trust's employees.

St Helens & Knowsley Hospitals NHS Trust, which performed very well across many areas of its staff survey, is developing plans to cut the number of attacks.

The trust's plans also involve identifying the location of spikes in violent incidents from patients and the public.

Ann Marr, the chief executive of St Helens & Knowsley Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “The trust operates a zero tolerance approach to abuse of staff and provides training to all frontline staff in the management of violence and aggression appropriate to their role. The trust has a 'red card system' along with a number of other security initiatives and actively encourages all our staff to report any incidents immediately."