Frankly, it's unacceptable that staff that go to work to care for others are subject to these levels of violence and intimidation

Health Secretary, Alan Milburn

The rules will not apply to the mentally ill.

Other safety measures to be introduced in all hospitals include self-defence training for staff and the installation of close circuit television cameras and panic buttons in accident and emergency (A&E) departments and wards.

Mr Milburn told the BBC: "One violent incident is one too many - frankly, it's unacceptable that staff that go to work to care for others are subject to these levels of violence and intimidation.

"This has got to be a matter of being a last resort and subject to very stringent safeguards indeed.

"It clearly raises dilemmas, but it's right and proper that the NHS does everything possible to support its staff and I will stand four square behind them."

Nurses will be very reluctant to stop treating a patient - but if a patient is being violent, abusive and aggressive, they can't deliver high-quality care

Sheelagh Brewer Royal College of Nursing

Also on Monday, Tony Blair will talk to doctors and nurses in the A&E department of an east London hospital - one of a number in the capital that successfully piloted the card system.

A Downing Street spokesman said the prime minister would give his full support to any hospital trust that adopts the scheme.

The number of incidents of violence or abuse suffered by front-line NHS staff in England rose to 65,000 last year.

There are now around 1,000 incidents of violence a year in which a staff member requires more than three days to recover.

One in three nurses have suffered abuse from the public and workplace violence is thought to be a principal cause of nurses leaving the profession.

Mike Stone of the Patients Association said of angry patients: "We can't condone it, but one can understand it if perhaps their tempers get a little bit frayed.

"What we should be looking at is more staff and more resources within A&E without a doubt. The more staff, the shorter the time people will then have to wait."

Sheelagh Brewer, Royal College of Nursing's health and safety advisor, told BBC News: "Nurses will be very reluctant to stop treating a patient - but if a patient is being violent, abusive and aggressive, they can't deliver high-quality care."