Royal Adelaide Hospital nurse bashed in the head by patient in ED

An experienced nurse has been assaulted by a mental health patient at the Royal Adelaide Hospital, with other staff left “severely shaken” by the incident.

A Royal Adelaide Hospital nurse has been bashed in the head by a mental health patient, with other staff left “severely shaken” by the incident.

The assault occurred on Thursday evening in the hospital’s emergency department as harried clinicians were treating more patients than the ED’s official capacity.

It is the latest alarming incident in a soaring number of assaults and threats on staff.

It follows an attack on a male staff member two weeks ago which was reported internally and to police.

That staff member received care and returned to work after one day off.

The RAH ED has faced relentless pressure for months with stressed staff facing burn out – at 8.30am on Friday the 69-bed ED was full to capacity and new arrivals faced an average 199 minutes to be seen.

The situation has reached such a crisis a SafeWork SA inspection of the ED last week resulted in an intervention order to fix workload issues putting staff at psychological risk by July 9 or face a fine of up to $250,000.

A separate inspection by the doctors’ union saw one ED clinician sum up the situation for clinicians by saying “Staff are f...ing broken.”

A nurse has been bashed in the head by a patient at the Royal Adelaide Hospital. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Naomi Jellicoe

The Central Adelaide Local Health Network released a statement saying an incident occurred at the Royal Adelaide Hospital which involved a patient assaulting a staff member.

“CALHN has zero tolerance for violence and aggression, and we are committed to providing a safe environment for staff, patients and visitors across all our sites,” it states.

“Any attack or threat to a staff member is taken very seriously and we encourage and support staff to report incidents to police so appropriate action can be taken.

“Security presented immediately and the staff member is being offered support.”

The incident comes as emergencies involving violent patients soars to record levels.

Recent SA Health data shows frontline health workers are urgently calling for help 30 times a day on average, with almost 80,000 “code black” calls to combat dangerous and abusive patients, families or supporters in seven years.

These calls have surged from 8284 incidents in 2016 – when all health networks first recorded uniform data – to almost 11,200 cases in 2022.

The Advertiser has asked SA Health to supply the number of calls made in 2023 and so far this year.

Elizabeth Dabars, ANMF (SA Branch) CEO-Secretary. Picture: Greg Adams

Damaged doors at Riverland Hospital after a violent incident with a patient.

Incidents last year include two nurses and three doctors needing treatment for injuries after a patient went berserk at Port Pirie Hospital.

The patient punched one nurse in the head then chased others around the ward, assaulting multiple people as they tried to restrain the person while protecting themselves before police arrived and finally restrained the patient.

Also last year, an attack by a patient at Riverland General Hospital left nurses “ducking punches and projectiles” from a patient at 4am. He smashed an entry door before police arrived and restrained him.

A violent patient had to be tasered four times by police at Wallaroo Hospital in February last year.

Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation state secretary Elizabeth Dabars told The Advertiser the attack was “abhorrent and unacceptable.”

“Our dedicated nurses, midwives and the communities they serve rightly expect to be safe in our hospitals and health care settings. The reality is far from the truth,” she said.

“The RAH ED staff have been significantly shaken by this terrible event and we have sought the urgent assistance of RAH senior management to provide support to the nurse and their colleagues.

“We have advocated for years for additional mental health beds for those suffering mental health conditions. More recently, our calls have been vindicated by a commitment by the current government to invest in those beds.

“However, those beds are yet to be built and there is also inadequate planning to ensure those beds can be properly staffed by mental health nurses.

“As recently as the last fortnight, we met with the Minster for Health and departmental representatives, again raising our concerns with the untenable condition of the health system and putting forward our members positive solutions to address these issues.”

Ms Dabars noted the noisy, bright atmosphere of a busy ED is not a suitable place for people suffering from mental health conditions.

“We strongly urge the government to bring online all alternative pathways for mental health care, bring on additional beds and work with us on a workforce plan as a matter of urgency,” she said.