A man who threatened Homerton Hospital staff with a knife after being told not to smoke in A&E has been banned indefinitely from all premises run by the NHS trust – unless he needs “urgent medical treatment”.

The culprit was arrested after being accused of “acts of violence” towards the workers in Chatsworth Road two weeks ago during an A&E visit, where he threatened to “stab them with knives”.

Now the Homerton University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust has taken the rare step of banning him from more than 70 buildings it runs in the borough.

In a letter to the man, the trust told him he cannot set foot on any of its sites unless he needs to attend A&E in a medical emergency.

The letter states: “Behaviour such as this is unacceptable and will not be tolerated.

“This organisation is firmly of the view that all those who work in or provide services have the right to do so without fear of violence or abuse.

“Due to the serious nature of the incident it has been decided that you should be excluded from trust premises.

“The period of this exclusion is indefinite.

“As part of this exclusion you must not attend any trust premises at any time unless you need to attend A&E in a medical emergency.

“If you are found to be on trust premises the security team will be alerted and will ensure you are escorted from the premises.”

The letter goes on to state that any contravention of the notice could result in him being hit with a civil injunction, and made to pay the legal costs.

A spokesperson for the trust told the Gazette it came as part of Operation Cavell, an initiative with police to crack down on violence against medical staff.

“People expect NHS staff to be courteous to them, but it works both ways,” he said.

In December, the Gazette revealed grieving daughter Elisabeth Solomon had been banned from the hospital, as well as a host of other organisations’ premises, for being “rude” in her quest for answers over her mother’s death.