The majority of physical assaults on hospital staff in East Kent are not carried out by drunken youths, but by elderly, confused patients, according to hospital trust boss Stuart Bain.

Mr Bain, who is chief executive of the East Kent Hospitals University Foundation Trust, which runs Ashford's William Harvey Hospital, said the number of assaults in the hospitals was below the average for an acute trust, but more sanctions had been taken out against offenders than most.

The number of physical assaults reported in the trust has gone down.

According to the NHS Security Management Service, in the year 2008-09, 88 assaults were reported. Mr Bain said that was a significant drop from 110 the previous year.

"We are prepared to support prosecutions," he said. "Indeed, a perpetrator was recently jailed following an incident in Margate, and we have formally excluded two patients for antisocial behaviour.

"Our security management specialist Lisa Sherratt works extremely closely with the police to deter and punish physical violence in our hospitals as much as possible."

Encouraging staff to report any incidents, he said: "The majority of physical assaults are carried out by elderly, confused patients, mainly those suffering from dementia."