The Alliance Party has announced their support for a new Department of Health campaign to preventing and reducing violence and aggression towards Health and Social Care workers.

East Antrim MLA Danny Donnelly, who is also a qualified nurse, described the statistics of attack on staff as "appalling".

He said: "The figures released today, showing an annual average of over 10,000 incidents of physical abuse against healthcare workers over the last five years, are appalling but, sadly, they will come as no surprise to those who work within the sector.

"The campaign is entitled 'It's Not Part of the Job' and of course it should not be. While we can understand why some people behave in certain ways, threats and abuse against staff are simply unacceptable and we must look towards tackling this head-on."

South Belfast MLA Paula Bradshaw added: "Public servants should not be expected to face violence and aggression as part of the job they are doing on behalf of all of us. While we all recognise the challenging environment in which healthcare workers are operating, there is a duty on us all to provide them with a safe environment and adequate support structures.

"We need an Assembly back operating urgently to ensure that a Health Committee is in place scrutinising the work being done to learn lessons from incidents of violence and abuse, and ensure that these appalling numbers are reduced significantly going forward in the future."