A&E staff face violence and aggression on a daily or weekly basis with some workers kicked and racially abused, health leaders have revealed.
The Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) warned the crisis has become 'normalised' and is being fuelled by long waits for care and a shortage of staff.
In most instances workers say their NHS trust failed to take meaningful action against the perpetrators, leaving staff feeling unsafe and 'expecting' to be attacked or intimidated as a matter of course.
It has forced victims to take time off work to recover from their physical and mental scars and led 'far too many' to quit, unions add.
The RCEM surveyed 2,126 workers in emergency departments and found 96 per cent have experienced violence or aggression from patients or other members of the public.
