Concerns tensions will worsen if security guards are stationed in emergency departments 24-seven

The Australasian College for Emergency Medicine is calling for it, saying there've been more than seven-thousand assaults on staff over the two years to April.

But the Nurses Organisation's Kerri Nuku says more training's needed in de-escalation, and avoiding racism.

She says some nurses are more likely to call security when Maori and Pasifika are involved.