Doctors may report violence to police.

Doctors and nurses in Wales's biggest accident and emergency unit are being given the go-ahead to report cases of violence to the police on behalf of patients.

The move is part of a crackdown on violence launched by the Cardiff Violence Prevention Group chaired by John Shepherd, professor of oral and maxillofacial surgery at the University of Wales College of Medicine.

The innovative Cardiff project, visited by the home secretary, Jack Straw, and the Welsh secretary, Alun Michael, last week, also includes a strategy to name and shame the pubs and dubs that provide the unit with the most patients.

Free phone lines are provided for patients in the …