Here, she tells how it happened and what it has meant to her.

"We received a 999 call about an elderly man who had fallen at an Underground station.

"When we got there the gentleman was in the station office being looked after.

"We did our observations and checks and he was very confused and he was very drunk by his own admission. He kept asking for his bottle of vodka back.

It was quite shocking, you don't expect it to happen in your own back garden as such

Sue Acres

"We carried him upstairs and into the ambulance and on the way he kept asking for his bottle of vodka.

"We got to the hospital and did a handover to the nurses so they had information on his medical condition and the events leading up to his admission.

"It was quite shocking, you don't expect it to happen in your own back garden as such and it was very busy that night.

"I was about a foot away from the bed. My partner was taking his jacket off and he started flailing at her and swearing at her.

Punched in face

"I came over to her assistance because I had a rapport with him.

"I called him by his name and asked him to calm down.

He just said 'you took my vodka away', he wasn't sorry at all

Sue Acres

"He started swearing at me and saying you took my vodka and punched me in the face.

"I hadn't been punched by a patient before.

"It is the last thing you expect. I pulled back and went reeling. My colleagues came to my aid and security was called.

"When things calmed down I went over to him and asked him 'why did you do it?'

Bad assaults

"He just said 'you took my vodka away', he wasn't sorry at all.

"It does make you feel very wary really but you get a lot of support from your colleagues and there is a support system in place.

"There is a feeling in the air that it is becoming more and more common.

"It is horrible - you are there to help people, it is unprovoked and there are a lot of bad assaults that are happening.

"The reason I prosecuted was for the other hospital staff so he cannot do it again, it is just not on.