NURSES at Worcester's Newtown hospital are working in an atmosphere of "violent tension" amid a beds shortage crisis in its acute psychiatric unit, it is claimed.

During one recent night shift, a nurse was attacked "quite severely", a concerned member of staff has told the Evening News.

The unit's 60 beds had been full for months, with patients frequently being transferred to Kidderminster or Redditch to make way for newcomers.

Some had even been put in the rehabilitation unit at Newtown, which was not equipped to deal with acutely ill patients.

Within the past two weeks, one consultant psychiatrist had demanded that a bed for an acutely unwell patient was put in the corridor.

"I believe other arrangements were made," said the source, who asked not to be identified, "but you can understand the pressure the consultants are under.

"There are three acute wards, with four or five nurses per ward. But one ward with 22 beds quite often has 25 or 26 patients on the books.

"When a patient goes home on leave, their bed's quickly filled. If they have a crisis and return to Newtown, there's no bed for them.

"Someone severely unwell and needing constant observation can take a lot of the nurse's time, so the others don't really get any quality care. It puts an enormous amount of pressure on the nurses."

The recent night-shift attack had sparked off two other violent incidents, the worker added.

"There's violent tension in the air every day, every shift. It's high stress every day, all day. I can't emphasise enough how bad it is."

Dr Ian McPherson, director of mental health for Worcestershire Mental Health Partnership Trust, agreed that there was a constant pressure on beds, not only in Worcester, but across the West Midlands.

"We're aware of the pressures on the wards. It's an ongoing issue and something we discuss on a daily basis," he said.

The hospital always operated at high levels of occupancy, but particularly over the past month, which had put "additional pressure" on staff.

He said there had been detailed discussions with the Trust about the need for better core staffing levels, with both qualified and unqualified staff.

At present additional agency staff were brought in when a particular ward was in difficulties, he said.

"We do have people who are disturbed and behave in aggressive ways. It's something we recognise," said Dr McPherson.

"Our staff are taught how to manage it, but the vast majority of people with mental health problems that are not violent."

The Trust was committed to improving investment to provide more nurses and a better quality environment for in-patients, he said.