The £3.5m system, the largest in the NHS, was officially opened by West Yorkshire Chief Constable Sir Norman Bettison.

It will control 700 cameras monitoring all Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust sites, including Leeds General Infirmary and St James's Hospital.

Housed at the new Bexley Wing at St James's, the CCTV system is also linked to alarms. Staff can pinpoint where an alarm has gone off and move cameras.

Last week the YEP revealed that nearly 30 per cent of hospital workers have suffered abuse or harassment from patients or relatives.

There were 150 assaults on staff in a year, from March 2007 to April this year.

Peter Foy, head of security at the trust, said: "This is the most ambitious facility anywhere in the NHS and is a major step forward in ensuring safety and security.

"Security staff can monitor activity in hundreds of indoor and outdoor locations, home in on problems quickly and direct on-site staff to any trouble spot.

"We face a huge logistical issue in the size and layout of our sites and this is the best solution .We want to make sure all who use our hospitals feels as safe as possible."

He said cameras meant incidents could be tracked and provided evidence if a case came to court. A member of staff has already been caught stealing sweets from the hospital.

Eight antisocial behaviour orders have been obtained by the trust in the last 18 months, and the number of people being monitored for their behaviour within the hospital grounds has fallen.

Five police community support officers based at the hospitals support the trust's security officers.

Sir Norman added: "West Yorkshire Police was delighted to work with the trust to the develop this new facility, which clearly demonstrates their commitment to ensuring the safety of everyone using their facilities."

The new control centre replaces smaller rooms at St James's and LGI. It is planned that 1,000 cameras will be monitored from there.

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