BASILDON Hospital is accelerating plans to install new CCTV cameras after a worker was stabbed during a terrifying robbery in the car park.

Mid and South Essex Trust CEO Matthew Hopkins has written to all staff in the wake of the robbery on Monday morning to confirm work on new CCTV will be sped up in a bid to boost safety.

The installation of a replacement CCTV funding was already funded and some work began in June, but contractors have now been asked to complete the works faster.

In the email, the trust boss confirmed that a member of staff was victim of the shocking attack at roughly 6.40am.

During the incident, the victim was stabbed by a man wearing a black balaclava, gloves, and dark clothing.

No arrests have yet been made but the victim has since been discharged from hospital and is recovering at home.

Mr Hopkins wrote: “Work is already underway to improve the CCTV coverage in the Basildon car park.

“Replacement of the CCTV system is funded and is dependent upon the work that started in June to improve the lighting and replace rusted and unusable cable trunking.”

He added: “The contractor is now aiming to get the works completed faster, although this will reduce the number of car parking spaces available.

“We should have a clearer idea of the timeline later this week.”

Labour councillor responsible for community safety and enforcement, Melissa McGeorge has also condemned the attack and called for more cameras.

She said: “We are horrified that this type of incident is happening in our borough, everyone has the right to feel safe and the fact that this has happened in a secure car park on hospital grounds is disgusting.

“The hospital need to review their security on site as soon as possible, there should be cameras covering all angles of the site and security that can respond to incidents, the fact that this poor woman was sounding her horn and received no aid speaks volumes to the current situation at the hospital.

“The administration are committed to making the borough a safer place to live, we are compiling a town centre security plan and looking at all aspects of the borough to see how we can make sure our residents feel safe.”