Nurses need greater protection from violent patients

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) says there are around 50,000 cases of violence in health trusts treating psychiatric patients every year.

In a BBC Radio 4 programme being aired on Tuesday, it also calls for more violent patients to be prosecuted.

The RCN says there are more than 100,000 cases of violence and aggression across the NHS every year.

The BBC's Julian Halloran said one case the RCN is dealing with concerns a psychiatric nurse who was attacked at Birmingham's Queen Elizabeth psychiatric hospital just weeks after qualifying.

She was the second person on a particular ward to be assaulted that day and had received no training in restraint.

The mental health trust which runs the hospital says such training is mandatory, but some new staff may not receive it for weeks or months after they begin work.