A nurse will die unless attacks on medical staff in Northern Ireland are stopped, it was claimed today.
The warning followed an attack on two nurses by two women who burst into the A&E at the Causeway Hospital in Coleraine. A computer was also smashed.
SDLP MLA John Dallat claimed: "Something must be done before someone is killed.
"It is a sad reflection on society that our front-line staff saving lives need security staff, but that is reality. It is a fact that some people, often crazed on drink and drugs frequent A&E departments on a regular basis making life hell for those who work there."
He said it is ironic that other public buildings have ample security staff while the most vulnerable are not protected.
New figures out today reveal that almost 3,300 staff linked to medical and emergency services were physically and verbally abused between April and September last year.
PA