Doctor stabbed at work by 17-year-old patient says he may never practise medicine again
A locum doctor has told a court he may never practise medicine again because of the enduring physical and psychological pain of being stabbed by a patient almost three years ago.
Aged 17 at the time of the attack, his assailant was sentenced to six years in prison last month after stabbing the doctor “for no reason” in April 2023, according to Supreme Court of Tasmania judge Justice Tamara Jago.
The doctor, referred to only as ‘Dr Wong’ in the sentencing, had been locuming at North West Regional Hospital in Tasmania when the boy was brought to the ED by ambulance.
It was the boy’s third presentation in five days with the same complaint: headaches after falling and hitting his head.
He underwent a CT scan, and Dr Wong encouraged him to have further imaging.
The boy then asked Dr Wong to come outside with him because “something was broken”.
Unsure what to do, but hoping to deal with the boy’s concerns quickly, Dr Wong followed him outside.
The teenager then stabbed Dr Wong in the chest, inflicting a 1cm wound to his right ventricle, penetrating the heart wall and entering the heart chamber.
When police ultimately took the boy into custody, they found a bloody knife on him with a 9.5cm blade.
Dr Wong survived thanks to the quick treatment administered by his colleagues, Justice Jago said.
The doctor was then airlifted to the Royal Hobart Hospital for emergency open heart surgery, spending a total of 13 days in hospital, including four in ICU.
His victim impact statement, read in court, said his breastbone and rib cage were sawn open during surgery and that his breastbone had to remain held together with wire for at least nine months.
Justice Jago said Dr Wong’s surgical scars remained an unavoidable reminder of the attack.
“[Dr Wong] continues to experience ongoing chronic pain. He has also suffered psychologically,” she said.
“He continues to experience nightmares and flashbacks.
“He is always anxious and suffers panic attacks. He no longer trusts people and is fearful of being alone.
“To date, he has been unable to return to work and does not know if he will ever be able to return to work as a doctor: a career that he had worked incredibly hard to attain and which he thoroughly enjoyed.
“Dr Wong now describes himself as ‘just going through the motions of life … The person I was before has gone’.”
Justice Jago said the boy, who pleaded guilty to wounding with intent to maim, was in the prodromal stage of schizophrenia when he stabbed Dr Wong.
However, he was only diagnosed with schizophrenia after his arrest.
She called the boy “very complex and troubled”, having been removed from his parents’ care at age one and then returned to them before being removed again eight years later amid allegations of extensive sexual abuse and neglect within the family.
A doctor told the court that the boy had features suggestive of psychopathy.
Justice Jago said he would be eligible for parole after four years in prison, backdated to the date of the crime, but would have to submit to psychiatric treatment and strict supervision rules if it was granted.
“The seriousness of this conduct is towards the highest end,” Justice Jago said.
“For no reason, [the defendant] inflicted a life-threatening stab wound to Dr Wong.
“Dr Wong’s life has been irrevocably changed as a consequence.”
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