Welsh health minister Jane Hutt has begun a major review of the way violence in hospitals is tackled following the launch of a campaign by the South Wales Argus.

The paper’s Protect Hospital Staff campaign was launched after it learned that there were no plans to introduce the “red card” scheme, recently introduced in England, to Welsh hospitals.

Under the scheme, persistently violent patients can be refused treatment and banned from a hospital for up to a year.

The scheme is not being automatically introduced in Wales, where health matters are run by the National Assembly.

However, following the campaign’s launch, Ms Hutt has promised a three-month review to consider the introduction of the scheme.

Argus editor Gerry Keighley said: “While we appreciate Ms Hutt’s quick reponse to our campaign, we still do not understand why the ‘red card’ system cannot just be introduced immediately.

“It has been piloted in England and then launched by the Prime Minister himself.

“There are safeguards for seriously ill or mentally disturbed patients.

“The violence endured by hospital staff in Wales is unlikely to be different to that suffered by their counterparts in England.

“So there seems to be no reason for a delay.”

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