Police and health chiefs have warned they will not tolerate drunken abuse of hospital staff, following an incident at Bradford Royal Infirmary.

Officers from the Manningham and Toller Neighbourhood Policing Team were called to the accident and emergency department this week to a man who was so drunk he could not stand up and had been spitting at staff and urinating in a consultation area.

Police attended and the man was aggressive towards officers. He was removed from the hospital and arrested for being drunk and disorderly.

After being left to sober up in the cells, the man was given a fixed penalty notice, involving a fine between £60 and £80.

On Twitter, the NPT said: “Most people are respectful to the staff but unfortunately sometimes there are people who are not.

“This is not the way to treat our hospital staff, I’m sure you all agree.”

BRI has one of the busiest accident and emergency departments, with more than 123,000 people attending it in 2010.

PC Dave Hudson, of the Manningham and Toller NPT, said: “We monitor BRI as part of our regular patrols and work closely with the hospital to deal with any reported offences.

“The police room in the hospital also offers staff and patients a visible presence while acting as a deterrent to anyone thinking of committing crime inside the building or around the grounds.

“One crime committed at the BRI is one too many. The staff should not have to put up with abuse and criminal activity while they are trying to carry out their vital jobs.

“Through this dedicated partnership approach we are continuing to see a reduction in the number of incidents.”

Figures have shown that the number of times police have attended the hospital has fallen since the police room was introduced, from 717 in 2008 to 595 two years later. There has also been a drop in the number of acts of violence against hospital staff in Bradford, from 129 in 2009/10 to 94 in 2010/11.

Karon Snape, the security management specialist for Bradford hospitals, said: “We will not tolerate violence or aggression against any members of staff from patients and visitors."