The warning coincided with the launch today of this year's NHS Confed Expo in Manchester.

Sir Ciarán said: ‘There is a very bleak picture emerging that is one of a profound crisis in the morale of NHS staff. Protecting staff from all forms of abuse, discrimination and as far as possible the pressures created by the wider political climate is not optional — it is essential. If we fail to safeguard the workforce, we fail patients.'

Stark findings in a recent report by The NHS Alliance 93% of NHS trust and ICB leaders and 91% of GP leaders said declining staff morale was a key area of concern this year.

Findings from the recent annual NHS staff survey show:

• nearly 10% of NHS staff experiencing discrimination from patients or the public, the highest level on record
• more than one in four NHS workers experienced harassment, bullying or abuse from patients or the public in the past year
• nearly 1 in 12 report unwanted sexual behaviour from patients or the public, surging to nearly a third of the frontline ambulance workforce
• almost 220,000 NHS staff were physically attacked in the last year, the highest level in three years
• staff reporting being unwell due to work-related stress has risen again, from 41.7% to 42.4%.