Staff at Macclesfield Hospital have been assaulted almost 700 times over the past five years, new figures reveal.

Medics suffered a shocking 442 physical attacks during the period. There were also 249 incidents of verbal abuse.

The assaults left 163 NHS workers needing treatment.

The figures - from East Cheshire NHS Trust, which runs the hospital - have been released after a woman who was jailed for a ferocious attack on two nurses had her prison sentence overturned on appeal.

Macclesfield’s mayor Beverley Dooley slammed the appeal decision and is calling for mandatory prison sentences for any attack of NHS staff, while union chiefs are demanding staff are given greater protection.

Trust bosses say they have a ‘zero tolerance’ policy to verbal and physical aggression and abuse.

Kath Senior, director of nursing, performance and quality, said: “The trust does not tolerate verbal abuse, harassment or violence towards its staff and will not hesitate to take robust action, including prosecution, against anyone behaving this way.

“We provide conflict resolution and simulation training for our staff to support them in dealing with complex situations involving confused patients.

“We ask our staff to report all incidents of verbal and physical aggression and are pleased that we have a culture of openness in reporting such matters.

“We support our staff in taking action against individuals who deliberately display actions of aggression towards them.”

In the last five years police have been called to the hospital 50 times to deal with violent or abusive patients.

Simultaneously health chiefs have spent more and more on security staff to protect doctors, nurses and other patients. In 2016/17 the trust spent £135,525 on security, compared to £101,636 in 2012/13.

While many assaults are perpetrated by patients under the influence of drink or drugs, some of the incidents are caused by people suffering from mental illness.

Mrs Senior added: “Patient safety, and the safety and security of our staff, continue to be our priority.

“Many incidents of verbal and physical abuse we record are linked to patients with dementia and other mental health issues who may exhibit challenging behaviour but still require our care and compassion.”