Two hospital trusts are investigating staff for viewing inappropriate images on work computers.

Four staff have been sacked at Newcastle upon Tyne Foundation Hospitals foundation trust and five suspended. A trust spokesperson said more action looked 'inevitable' but each case would be considered on its merits.

Investigations at Northumbria Healthcare Foundation trust are at an early stage. It is not thought the two incidents are linked.

The Newcastle trust said its electronic surveillance system detected the images and text.

The four staff include a nurse who had worked on a geriatric ward. It is understood the images included one of an elderly woman and that the trust will report the case to the Nursing and Midwifery Council.

A trust spokesperson said it had 'a zero-tolerance policy in relation to obscene and related material that is considered offensive and inappropriate in a healthcare setting'.

The trust is now looking at further technology to detect unsuitable material. The image was taken from the internet despite firewall and surveillance systems in use. It was downloaded and 'openly observed in a clinical area', the spokesperson said.

Northumbria Healthcare trust said its investigation could take some weeks. Chief executive Jim Mackey said: 'We are very clear about what is and what is not acceptable and all our staff have now been reminded about the guidelines in our e-mail policy.'

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