A casualty nurse tending a head wound was stabbed by her patient on Saturday at Central Middlesex Hospital.

As we went to press, the nurse was recovering at home from superficial wounds to her face and arm from the the incident, which happened in the hospital's Accident and Emergency department in the early hours of Saturday.

The patient, who was brought to the hospital by ambulance after being hit on the head in a fight, became very difficult to deal with while he was being treated, said Brian Goodinson, a spokesman for the hospital.

He became violent after being told there were no taxis available to take him home.