Emergency crews called to Nepean Hospital
A MAN shot by police outside Nepean Hospital’s emergency department was allegedly armed with two knives and had tried to stab an officer moments before the shooting.
NSW
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A MAN shot by police outside Nepean Hospital’s emergency department was allegedly armed with two knives and had tried to stab an officer moments before the shooting.
Police say the 54-year-old had threatened security staff with the weapons when hospital staff dialled triple-0.
When confronted by police, he allegedly became aggressive and tried to stab an officer.
Police then shot the man.
Officers from Ku-ring-gai Police Area command will conduct an independent critical incident investigation into the shooting, focusing on the discharging of a police officer’s gun.
The man who was shot underwent surgery at the hospital and is in a stable condition.
The emergency department remains closed.
Officers are searching a dark 4WD parked near the emergency department’s entrance.
Patients were confined to wards, visitors locked into rooms and ambulances diverted to other hospitals as the western Sydney health precinct went into full emergency lockdown.
The bomb disposal squad was called out after the man also claimed there was a bomb in a car close to the hospital.
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The man was under arrest and in a critical condition when he underwent emergency surgery at the hospital where he was shot in the abdomen.
It is the latest in a growing number of violent attacks at hospitals just weeks after Health Minister Brad Hazzard ordered his department to undertake a detailed review of another shocking incident at Blacktown Hospital after a nurse was stabbed by a patient.
Nepean Hospital’s own security measures came under review in 2016 when police dog squad officer Luke Warburton was shot in an emergency room incident at the same hospital.
He was shot in the leg with his own weapon while trying to control a man who was armed with scissors and threatening staff.
A hospital security guard was shot in the calf.
Pregnant woman Anne Medina, 32, was undergoing an ultrasound when staff suddenly rushed in and told her the hospital was in lockdown.
“I was in the ultrasound room,” she said.
“When we went out everyone was talking about it and a midwife said we were not allowed to go out. They said they were waiting for more information to come in.”
Ms Medina’s partner Christian Arbocco, 29, said: “They said a guy had been shot and that everything was safe. We had to wait until they told us we could leave.”
Patient Jay Johnson, 22, said he was in his ward when the shooting occurred.
“Police had everyone lined up and the bomb squad rocked up,” he said.
“Police said ‘you can’t walk past this line’, they didn’t say what had happened – other people did. Apparently he came out with knives and was saying he had a bomb.
“It was just a normal day and then this.”
Police set up a cordon around the emergency department.
Dozens of officers and ambulance crews remain on scene.
South Penrith woman Tracey Ferry, 56, was in ED after suffering from chest pains when she heard the shooting just metres away.
“I heard yelling and then not long after that I heard a gunshot,” she said.
“I’ve never heard a gunshot before. It was like a dull bang. After that, staff straight away started to look after the man. They went ‘ok, he’s been shot, bring this, bring this’.”
Ms Ferry said after the shooting she overheard staff talking about the bomb threat.
“After they heard about a bomb everybody was moved to the back of the hospital,” she said.
“I overheard someone saying there was a note in his car saying there’s a bomb.
“The way that Nepean Hospital managed that situation kept me calm instantly, it was amazing. They just reassured and moved people from one section to another. They couldn’t move me so they stayed with me.”
Speaking at the scene to reporters, Nepean Hospital general manager Brett Williams confirmed the shooting occurred just outside the emergency department’s entrance.
When asked what the incident said about security in the state’s hospitals, Mr Williams declined to comment but thanked his staff for their response.
“Staff performed tremendously and so I really must thank them for all their hard work,” he said.
“It’s not normal to have this sort of situation, but we followed our usual protocols in relation to a disaster and performed tremendously.”
Mr Williams said the man who was shot was in a stable condition just before 8pm.
“The emergency department has been closed and all patients diverted to other surrounding hospitals,” he said.
“We followed our disaster protocols and moved all of our current inpatients into other areas of the hospital to be sure we continued to provide care to those patients.”
Health Services Union secretary Gerard Hayes said new powers for hospital security guards were mooted after the 2016 shooting, but the state government never delivered them.
“A key issue was enhanced powers of security officers … for security officers to be able to restrain or detain people. Those key issues were not realised,” Mr Hayes said.
“So in a circular measure we’re now back here again.”
Mr Hazzard had flagged putting locks on all doors outside patient rooms, like tea rooms, making them accessible only be staff swipe cards after the nurse at Blacktown Hospital was rescued by a 72-year-old patient.
The patient had to lock the man with a knife in a room.