A man has said he has been “attacked frequently” by patients at St George’s Hospital due to the lack of staff available.

Mental health support worker Steve Bedford, 42, said he has been “attacked” by the patients who have grown “frustrated” or “angry” because understaffing has meant there are not enough health workers to look after them.

Today, thousands of nurses across England are going on strike as a bitter pay dispute with the Government continues but the Health Secretary has warned “unaffordable” wage rises “will mean cutting patient care”.

Steve told the PA news agency outside of St George’s Hospital in south-west London: “I can show you scars on my hands where I’ve been bitten, punched, kicked.

“This isn’t every now and again, this is frequently. In a month I could be hit five times, six times, in a month. No-one should have to come into work and put up with that or accept it.”

Steve said there is a “frightening” level of patients coming in with mental health issues.

“I’ve come to work sick before and the only reason I’ve done that is because I know that if I called in sick, they are going to be short-staffed and I’m thinking of my colleagues.”

Mr Bedford said he would like Health Secretary Steve Barclay to come down to St George’s Hospital to do a shift.

“Come down and do a shift in A&E with no cameras, nothing. Come and do a shift with me and then you would know how difficult it is,” he said.

Some areas of mental health and learning disability and autism services are also exempt from today’s strike, while trusts will be told they can request staffing for specific clinical needs.

When it comes to adult A&E and urgent care, nurses will work Christmas Day-style rotas.

Having been a mental health support worker for 10 years, Mr Bedford said he knows people will “definitely be suffering” as a result of the strike.

He said: “We don’t want to strike because we know that people will definitely be suffering today. In A&E the wait time is going to be longer than we normally are.”