Courageous nurse tells parliamentary committee she fought off patient with knives at Yorketown Hospital

Nurse tells parliamentary committee about terrifying knife attack and rampage at a regional hospital and says security still has not been fixed.

A courageous nurse has recounted a terrifying ordeal when she fought off a berserk armed woman using a chair, then feared her other patients would be stabbed.

Megan Hoile gave harrowing evidence to a parliamentary committee looking at Yorke Peninsula health services.

“I was attacked at Yorketown Hospital on 1 November last year by a female with two knives, who chased me through the hospital. It was only that I defended myself with a chair that I did not get stabbed,” Ms Hoile said.

“I had put in numerous requests at my workplace because it is unsafe but funding is never in the budget.

“There were two staff members on and we thought all our patients on the ward were being stabbed while we were locked in a room waiting 45 minutes for the police to arrive.

“We had no-one to come and help us. We had no idea what this patient was doing through the hospital.

“We knew she still had a knife. I had knocked one knife out of her hand with a chair but

we knew she was still rampaging around the hospital. We couldn’t get to our patients, we couldn’t lock off areas, we couldn’t do anything. We just hoped that she didn’t attack anyone.”

Ms Hoile said since the incident, doors have been installed but are left open with no security swipe cards to prevent unauthorised access.

“It’s a disgrace and needs to be sorted out, because someone is going to die,” she said.

“We have had multiple mental health incidents at the hospital since; thankfully no-one has been hurt. We can’t get nurses to come to the country, because why would you come to the country and work when you might not go home to your family in the morning?”

Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation state secretary Elizabeth Dabars told the committee there is a Yorke Peninsula site where one nurse can be responsible for 17 patients and the emergency department.

Penny Pratt. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Naomi Jellicoe

Opposition regional health spokeswoman Penny Pratt said: “This Labor government has failed on health and it’s regional nurses and patients who are suffering.”

Health Minister Chris Picton said the government is investing in heavily in regional health services, with security guards at key regional hospitals.

“We have increased investment on upgrading country hospital infrastructure by an enormous 388 per cent – up from just $34m before we came to government to $166m a year now,” he said.

Yorke and Northern Local Health Network chief executive Roger Kirchner said: “Zoned doors were installed last week which will isolate patient areas from the public, providing an improved level of privacy and safety.

“A swipe card system has also been installed and it is due to be activated early next week.”

Originally published as Courageous nurse tells parliamentary committee she fought off patient with knives at Yorketown Hospital