DOCTORS and nurses in the borough have suffered more assaults than anywhere else in the region.
Primary care staff in Ellesmere Port and Neston were attacked 18 times in one year - more than their counterparts in Chester, Wirral and Liverpool.
But these figures cover both malicious attacks and ones by confused patients.
The figures are unveiled in a survey of doctors, nurses and other staff at primary care trusts. Between April 2004 and March 2005, there were 18 physical attacks and nine verbal ones on staff working for Ellesmere and Neston PCT.
None was reported to police. A spokeswoman said: 'We are the only PCT in Cheshire and Merseyside which has a rehabilitation hospital - Ellesmere Port Hospital - within its remit.
'Consequently, staff come into daily contact with patients who may be confused, distressed or disorientated.
'This is because they may have dementia or some other medical condition that affects their behaviour towards staff.'
Staff at Cheshire West PCT, which covers the wider Chester area, suffered three physical assaults and nine verbal ones in the same period. One of these was reported to the police but has not led to a prosecution.
Birkenhead and Wallasey saw 11 physical assaults on staff in the same period, while Liverpool Central, South and North had six and Bebington and West Wirral, South Sefton and St Helens all had one.
Mersey Regional Ambulance Service said from June 2004-March 2005, there were 64 assaults on its paramedics.
Spokeswoman Natalie Barnett added: 'Of this total, there were six assaults in Chester and Ellesmere Port.'
