ONE in three staff at an East Lancashire mental health facility have reported being attacked by patients or visitors in the last 12 months, a shock new report has revealed.

Calderstones NHS Trust -- based on the outskirts of Whalley -- has been labelled the worst in the country for attacks against staff.

Thirty seven per cent of staff have been subjected to physical violence in the last 12 months at the centre, compared to a national average of one-in-six within the NHS as a whole.

Even when compared only to other mental health institutions within the NHS, Calderstones was found to have the worst track record -- with staff at Calderstones more likely to suffer an attack.

Nationally, mental institutions averaged attacks against one in four of staff. Calderstones employs 1,987 workers.

A spokesman for public sector union Unison, which has a branch within Calderstones, said: "Staff have the right to work in a safe environment without fear of attack from clients. We require the employers to act on this report and will seek to work with them as well."

The report -- from the Commission For Health Improvement, part of the Department of Health -- was based on a survey throughout the NHS late last year.

Within Calderstones, 75 per cent of staff responded to the survey, which also found that 35 per cent of staff had experienced harassment or bullying in the previous 12 months.

That compares with a national average of 41 per cent.

Ribble Valley MP Nigel Evans today said: "Staff need to be protected properly. I will be seeking a meeting with the Trust to talk about this among other issues."

The report has been presented to Calderstones NHS Trust board of directors, and an action plan on issues it raised is being drawn up.

Graham Jowett, director of corporate strategy at the Trust, said: "This is an issue we are looking at addressing. The survey showed that staff felt we were taking action about violence and we are. The comparisons made are with organisations which aren't really that similar to us."

The site looks after up to 200 patients at one time. The Whalley site includes a medium-secure section, which has been home to sex offenders and arsonists receiving treatment for mental health problems.

Much of the site is used by people with learning difficulties.

A spokesman for the Department of Health said survey findings would be used to assess the effectiveness of national policy, and be taken into consideration when drawing up Trust 'star ratings'.

He added that Trusts were expected to act on the information and to carry out improvements where necessary.

He said: "There is a lot of work going on nationally to tackle this problem. It isn't just one Trust. These include offering conflict resolution training."