NHS staff are facing 'utterly abhorrent' levels of violence in A&E – with one worker attacked every two hours, damning figures reveal today.
Middle-class patients and their families are among those driven to rage by long waits and dehumanising care in corridors, the Royal College of Nursing said.
It warned that its members were physically and mentally scarred after being punched, spat at – and even threatened with guns.
Many have been forced to take time off to recover, with some too traumatised to return.
The nurses' union warned that the Government's ten-year plan to reform the Health Service will 'fail completely' without action to protect and retain staff.
