The number of violent attacks against medical staff totalled 599 in 2008-9, compared with 664 assaults last year.

The figure for people reported to police for the assaults this year was
56.

But there has been an increase in the number of ambulance crews attacked from 59 to 70 incidents last year. Of those, the East Midlands Ambulance Service prosecuted 47 people.

Nick Arnold from the trust said: "It is totally unacceptable for staff to face the risk of being assaulted and intimidated when they go to help someone who needs urgent medical help.

"Violence and abuse is not part of our job and we do not have to accept it."

Assaults against mental health staff were the highest with 490 reported to the NHS Security Management Service, which compiled the figures.

The Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, which looks after mental health services in the county has 2,389 staff, with about a quarter of them assaulted last year.

Further action was taken against nine people. In the previous year there were 543 assaults on mental health staff and it is the fourth year running the number has fallen.

Director of corporate services Paul Martin said: "Our staff will always try to put their patients' needs first, but we must do everything we can to ensure staff are protected.

"We are very pleased the numbers are continuing to fall. While there is still more work to do, the figures show we are beginning to see success in our work to tackle violence."

At Kettering General Hospital NHS Foundation Trust there were 21 assaults compared with 33 last year.

Chief executive, Dr Mark Newbold, said: "The trust is fortunate the number of people behaving aggressively towards our staff has remained at a low level for the last 10 years.

"The vast majority of reported assaults at KGH involve verbal abuse rather than physical attack and where attacks do happen they are more often confused patients who may lash out."