Stafford Hospital 'food fight' worker reprimanded

Only one of three staff involved in a mock food fight at Stafford Hospital has been reprimanded, bosses have revealed today.

The images, captured by a nurse, showed two workers having a food fight.

They were seen soaking each other with yoghurt, fruit juice and a build-up drink called Ensure.

The photos were then posted on the Internet.

Yesterday Stafford Hospital said it had taken "appropriate action" over the incident but would not give further details.

But it has now revealed that only one of the three staff involved has been reprimanded whilst another has been on sick leave since September.

It is thought the incident happened in the hospital's Emergency Assessment Unit, now known as the Acute Medical Unit, when one of the staff, Victoria Cooper, was leaving.

The pictures show her getting a soaking from healthcare assistant Kim Pointon.

The photos, taken by Sam Parkes, were then posted on Facebook.

Today Antony Sumara, chief executive of Stafford Hospital said: "There were three people involved in this incident: one person taking the photo and two members of staff behaving inappropriately.

"One person left the trust on the day of the incident in May 2009. The second has been on sick leave since September 2009.