Violence against staff at Airedale General Hospital has soared, according to new figures.

Statistics published yesterday by NHS Protect, the organisation formerly known as NHS Security Management Service, reveal there were 42 incidents reported between April 2010 and March 2011 at Airedale NHS Foundation Trust.

This compares to 16 incidents reported in 2009/2010.

It is believed changes in the way incidents are categorised could be the reason for the large increase at the hospital at Steeton, near Keighley.

Christine Miles, director of operations at Airedale NHS Foundation Trust said: “Any assaults against our staff are a serious concern and we work with our security partners to support our staff in areas across the hospital where patients can become physically abusive.

“We provide conflict resolution training for all frontline staff whose work brings them into contact with members of the public so they can try to diffuse situations before they escalate, and we support any affected staff, for example, if an assault needs to be reported to the police or with counselling, where appropriate, following an incident.”

Bradford District Care Trust, which provides community health, mental health and social care services for people across the Bradford, Airedale and Craven districts, saw a reduction in the number of reported incidents against staff for the third year in a row.