Bed block blamed for latest attack on hospital doctors and nurses
Patient who injured medical staff had waited three weeks for a specialist mental health bed, union says.
Doctors have called for improved security after yet another violent incident, in which three doctors and two nurses were injured by a mental health patient in SA.
An SA doctors’ union says increasing numbers of salaried medical officers are reporting ‘code blacks’ — personal threats — in hospitals and want better security, particularly in rural areas.
Last Saturday night, a 75-year-old patient approached a nurse at Port Pirie Hospital, 230km north of Adelaide, punched her in the head and stepped on her foot.
The man, who was waiting to be transferred to a specialist aged care unit, chased staff around the ward, including three doctors, who had minor injuries including bruising.
