HOSPITAL staff will be able to summon police more quickly if trouble breaks out on the wards - thanks to a new piece of kit.

A walkie-talkie radio link will be on hand to alert police instantly if trouble erupts at Dorset County Hospital.

And CCTV camera operators will be able to focus on problems as they unfold at the hospital's busy A&E unit.

The radio link brings the hospital into a scheme that is already running in Dorchester to link shops to nip trouble in the bud. Pubs and clubs joined the scheme last month.

Inspector Les Fry of Dorchester Police welcomed the inclusion of the hospital where staff have suffered insults and assaults, particularly in A&E.

He said: "It means staff can alert the police instantly if anything starts to happen, they don't have to ring 999. They will also link into the CCTV control room so an operator can make sure a camera is directed on the scene.

"Hospital staff have an extremely important job to do and need to be able to get on and do it. Problems there are not frequent, but they occur often enough for it to be a concern."

The radio link was welcomed by A&E consultant Dr Richard Huppertz, who said the link would reassure staff that help was on the way quickly in the event of an incident.

He said: "It will increase staff confidence knowing that we can reach the police directly when we need assistance. Incidents in the department requiring police assistance often involve patients who are drunk and become aggressive or violent."

The hospital's radio will use the same network as the shop scheme set up by the town's Chamber of Commerce. Shops communicate with each other, the police and the CCTV control room to alert each other of problems such as shoplifters. Pubs and clubs in Dorchester Pubwatch use the radio link mostly during the evenings.

Funding for the radios to extend the scheme to include pubs and the hospital came through a grant from the Western Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership Insp Fry said: "The hospital won't need to be involved in the messages that go between shops. But it will be there for staff who feel or are threatened by people. The problems tend to be with people who are drunk or have mental issues and become abusive.

"This new radio is a good thing and I'm delighted. It should help us deal with trouble before it gets serious and will re-assure staff."