WYCOMBE Hospital is taking on extra security staff after it was revealed there were 111 physical or verbal attacks on staff at South Bucks NHS Trust, during January to March this year.

Patients who are abusive run the risk of not being treated and the hospital's chief executive has written to four patients. No-one has been banned from the hospital which is bidding for money for more CCTV cameras.

David Griffiths, hospital services director, said: "It will strengthen the feeling of comfort for staff, who are feeling quite vulnerable."

Incidents that are unusual or should not happen have to be reported and recorded.

Staff at South Bucks reported 998 incidents in three months, said the trust's medical director, Dr Andrew Kirk, when he gave the figures to the trust board last week. They include slips and trips, and damage to cars.

Among those at risk are receptionists who have to deal with angry patients who have sometimes been kept waiting for hours.

Chief executive Roy Darby has written to abusive patients warning them about their behaviour. "We say if it persists we can withdraw their right to have our treatment and our care and they may have to go elsewhere," he said.

Most of the abuse is oral not physical and according to Dr Kirk there have not been any major violent incidents. About 40 per cent of the abuse comes from patients with mental health problems or learning disabilities. They will not show in the trust's figures after April, because they are now the responsibility of Bucks Mental Health Trust.

A day at A&E at Wycombe Hospital: See page 6