NHS staff across Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust are facing a "rise in abusive, rude and aggressive behaviour" caused by frustration at long waits for care.

In a strongly-worded statement, which has been shared on Twitter, the trust which looks after Reading Berkshire Hospital said they have seen more abuse directed towards staff since the Covid pandemic started.

People have been asked to 'be patient and to be kind' as growing pressures on the NHS service increase.

A video was also shared online by an NHS worker called Tricia.

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She said: "It’s been tough on the NHS over the last two years. Our staff have really been up against it. Recently we've seen a rise in some quite unpleasant behaviour towards our staff and that's causing them to be sad and to impact on their mental health. Please remember to be kind to our staff - they’re here to help."

As pressures on NHS services increase, we've seen a rise in abusive, rude and aggressive behaviour directed at our staff.

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It comes after earlier this year, the UK’s leading health organisations demanded an end to the abuse endured by healthcare workers during the pandemic.

Their stance was triggered by the trolling suffered by Royal College of Midwives (RCM) chief executive Gill Walton following her work to convince pregnant women to get vaccinated against Covid-19.

She faced a torrent of abuse online, as did many other leading medics working to boost uptake of the jab among younger age groups.

Chief nursing officer for England Ruth May said back in August: “We will not tolerate abuse or violence towards our colleagues.”

She added: “Despite the despicable actions of a minority, the overarching support we have seen from the wider public has helped carry us through the pandemic and we are proud to have helped millions of patients over the last year.”