NURSES are the bedrock of our health service. Without their commitment and skill the NHS would collapse.

People such as York nurse Jackie Jeffrey train hard to work long, anti-social hours. They are motivated not by money, but by the chance to help others.

So it is shocking when this dedication is met with abuse and violence.

Last July Noel Corr arrived at the York NHS Walk-In Centre and told Mrs Jeffrey he was suffering from chest pains.

Despite his drunken state, she proceeded to examine him with admirable professionalism. Corr flew into a rage, smashed her head against the wall and punched her in the back.

Today he is where he belongs, behind bars. Mrs Jeffrey, meanwhile, is still suffering pain from his attack, and is asking herself whether nursing is really for her.

That such an experienced nurse is ready to quit is a minor tragedy for the NHS. But as long as we leave our health professionals vulnerable to verbal and physical abuse, more will leave and fewer will join up.

It is impossible to make the job entirely safe. The nature of the work involves intimate one-to-one contact and there is always a risk that a patient may turn nasty.

However, we can and should be doing more to protect nurses. Last month, we reported the welcome news that York Hospital is supplying personal attack alarms to staff.

Yet patients who are barred from the hospital are now targeting the Walk-In Centre. The Monkgate building is not protected by a security guard. It should be.

And we wholeheartedly back the call by nursing union Unison that Corr and his cowardly ilk are subject to the same severe penalties as those now reserved for thugs who assault a police officer.

Updated: 10:48 Friday, February 13, 2004