series of rigid security measures following a violent attack earlier this month on doctors and a patient.

All but one entrance to Emergency will be blocked off and it will be guarded at all times.

Access to Emergency will be limited to patients, their parents and two visitors a day. Guardians of small children will also be allowed in.

A panic button which connects Emergency directly to Police will be installed to "ensure immediate and substantial assistance when required''.

And anyone who assaults patients or staff will be "prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law''.

The hospital "was forced with reluctance'' to adopt such measures, Emergency director Dr. Edward Schultz said in announcing them yesterday.

They were adopted "in light of the continuing violent incidents in both the Emergency Department and community at large'', he said.

"The hospital staff regrets that these steps have to be taken and anticipates that some members of the community may express concern over the proposed policy or restricted access,'' Dr. Schultz added.

"But our primary goal remains to provide the best care possible to all patients entering the department for treatment. This can only be accomplished in an environment in which both patients and staff are free from the fear of assault or personal injury.'' This month's incident was the latest in a growing number of attacks on Emergency staff.

Two men burst into Emergency, assaulted a doctor and sprayed a noxious chemical in the faces of a patient with a fractured skull, a police officer and a female doctor.

Hospital officials described the night attack as the worst ever. Two Hamilton Parish brothers have been charged with the offence.

Dr. Schultz said the new measures were now standard in most US hospitals given the rising trend in emergency room violence in the country.

He said the decision to install the new panic button stemmed from Police response to the mace incident. Staff had estimated it had taken Police seven minutes to get there. And only one car responded.

"A bigger response is always better in cases like this,'' he said. "I don't think the incident would have gotten as violent if there had been more Police present.'' Dr. Schultz noted that up to seven people sometimes accompanied one injured person to Emergency. "Unfortunately, that number had to be limited,'' he said.

There will be punch-card access only to the Emergency door within the hospital and the side ambulance entrance. The third door to Emergency, next to the ambulance entrance, will be the only public entrance and a security guard will be posted there at all times.