HUNDREDS of doctors, nurses and paramedics have been attacked across Cumbria in their line of work, new figures show.

Staff at University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust have been subjected to an average of three assaults a week, according to the NHS Business Services Authority.

A total of 169 assaults took place in 2014/15 at the trust, which covers sites including Furness General Hospital and the Royal Lancaster Infirmary.

At Cumbria Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, which manages community and mental health services, there were 418 assaults during the same period, which equates to 77 assaults per 1,000 staff.

Calls have been made for a "zero tolerance" approach to NHS staff experiencing violence and abuse at work from patients. 

Tim Farron, MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale, said: "These figures are extremely concerning.

"Our dedicated doctors and nurses work incredibly hard to look after patients, and should never be expected to suffer an assault at work. 

"I am particularly concerned that this increase could be due, in part, to increased waiting times and an NHS which is struggling to cope with greater demands and less funding than is needed."

Elsewhere, North Cumbria University Hospitals NHS Trust recorded 116 assaults, 90 of which involved 'medical factors'.

The North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust, which covers all of Cumbria, saw 376 assaults against staff.

David Walker, medical director at UHMBT, said: "Everyone has the right to work in a safe and secure environment, and if any of our staff feel threatened by anyone whilst at work, we actively encourage them to report it.

"We have been working hard to help staff understand that they shouldn’t tolerate any threatening behaviour towards them; our staff are now reporting incidents that they may have previously seen as 'just part of the job'.

"We also take a proactive approach in working with other local agencies, such as the police, to actively seek sanctions against those committing crimes against our staff.

"This commitment is shown in the fact that we had 23 successful sanctions in 2014/15 against individuals who acted inappropriately towards our staff. This is compare with just one sanction the year before.

"The NHS is here to help people, and it is completely unacceptable that some staff are made to feel threatened when they are trying to provide care and treatment.

"We will continue to support our staff to ensure they feel safe in work at all times."

Nationally, the number of assaults increased to 67,874 in 2014/15.