THOUSANDS of people come through the doors of hospitals across Sussex every month so it is not surprising they can fall victim to crimes.

Sussex Police has revealed officers were called out more than 320 times over a one year period. The number may be small given the sheer volume of visitors but worryingly the figures are on the rise.

Each case is one too many.

Hospitals are a place where the injured and ill are being helped to recover and nobody needs the extra distress caused by having their property stolen or being attacked.

Offences range from theft and common assault to the more serious such as racial abuse and sexual assault and even rape.

Hospitals are working closely with police to keep the numbers down and it is vital they continue to stay vigilant at all times.

Staff are given special training to stop potentially volatile situations from spiralling out of control and hospitals all have their own security teams and CCTV cameras to monitor what is going on.

Patients and visitors can also play their part by making sure they don’t take in valuables if they can avoid it.

Despite the best efforts of all concerned, the sheer number of patients and visitors in public areas throughout each hospital means it is impossible and unrealistic to have no cases of crime at all.

However as long as hospitals and police continue to work together it is hoped the number of incidents are kept to an absolute minimum and cases fall over the coming 12 months.