Emergency department doctors say a lack of properly trained security staff over summer hindered rather than helped in the waiting rooms.

Hospital ED's received just under $6 million from the government before Christmas to hire 200 security guards until the end of this month.

Overcrowded waiting rooms have become increasingly unsafe as hospitals struggle with high demand.

The College of Emergency Medicine's Dr Kate Allen says well-trained security have been great, but others have left doctors and nurses feeling unsupported.

Allen spoke to Charlotte Cook.