‘There is nowhere for them’: The elderly stuck in Medical Ward 5
Three years after a patient's death, Townsville University Hospital's dementia ward remains plagued by extreme violence that staff say could kill again.
Burnt out staff working in a ward where elderly patients and workers are routinely subjected to horrific violence say they’ve been told to spray lavender in a bid to protect themselves against violent patients.
Townsville University Hospital’s Medical Ward 5, ostensibly for aged care, has become a terrifying battleground, with insiders exposing a culture of fear, burnout, and systemic failure.
Three years ago, a man died on the ward after he was attacked by a fellow patient.
A source inside the ward said the man accused of the fatal attack later told nurses “f– k off or I’ll do to you what I did to him”.
Medical Ward 5 specialises in dementia, but it’s technically an aged care ward open to all patients over the age of 75 with dementia, delirium or other complex behavioural needs.
The man who died in 2022 was 77-year-old Vincent O’Keefe, who was described in reporting at the time as a sound-minded Vietnam veteran who had been diagnosed with early-stage dementia and was temporarily on Medical Ward 5 while waiting for a nursing home.
The alleged attacker had dementia, and no criminal charges were laid against him.
According to staff, Medical Ward 5 has become increasingly filled with violent elderly patients who’ve been rejected from their aged care homes for dangerous behaviour, or who’ve aged out of the mental health unit, and have nowhere else to go.
Whistleblowers say they know of nurses who’ve been choked, nearly raped, cleaners who’ve been pinned to the walls by their throats, and worse.
“We are burning out, there is a high amount of staff away on sick leave,” one source said.
“Every week there is a bashing of some sort.”
A recent vicious attack on a female nurse has scared multiple staff.
The patient that attacked her was in Medical Ward 5 because he’d been kicked out of his aged care home for inappropriate sexual behaviour and assaulting staff, an insider said.
He only stopped punching her when two male nurses intervened.
Another source said while working their shifts the violent patients “watch you like a hawk”.
“We are a geriatric ward, but I’m starting to ask myself ‘what the hell am I doing here?’” they said.
“There is nowhere to put these people. The nursing homes won’t take them, their families can’t handle them. These people are piling up in the system and a lot of times they die before they find a home.”
One patient has been on the ward for over 600 days – and is yet to leave.
Internal sources say a big issue in the Townsville University Hospital ward has been the lack of antipsychotics doctors are prescribing to violent patients.
“The doctors are writing up the minimum amounts, and it doesn’t do much. It calms them down for short period but if you don’t get it (the medication) into them when you see the first signs then good luck getting them to take it,” one worker said.
“Or they can be too advanced for the dose to have any effect. You can’t negotiate with them. There is nothing to negotiate with. Their brain is literally dissolving.”
In addition to more antipsychotics drugs, staff are also asking for increased security.
“I haven’t seen a guard in four days,” one source said.
“Which is a shame because their behaviour does improve when they can see a guard standing there. A few of the patients have spent time in prison so they know what a guard means.”
Townsville Hospital and Health Service chief executive Kieran Keyes said any assault against a staff member is treated with utmost seriousness, and where appropriate staff get support from the Sexual Assault Response Team.
“At TUH, health security officers are on campus 24 hours a day and respond to incidents across the hospital, including in Medical Ward 5,” Mr Keyes said.
“However, a continuous security presence is not an effective approach for caring for older people with dementia.”
Instead, the hospital relies on dementia-trained staff, one-to-one care, and “proactive nursing interventions”.
Mr Keyes said lavender spray was only used as a calming strategy for dementia-related anxiety.
He said special security staff had been engaged to assist with one patient in 2022, but were not part of regular staffing.
Safety specials are providing to assist nursing staff for new patients with high needs for the first 24 hours before a decision is made about their car moving forward.
A worker said they’ve been told to “spray lavender” at aggressive patients, give them hand massages, and let them greet people at the door to diffuse their behaviour.
Sources inside the hospital say Medical Ward 5 was promised 24-hour security safety specials for every new patient in the secure ward after Mr O’Keefe’s death.
“This promise lasted six months. Can’t be staffed, they said,” the source reported.
“Injured staff are having their working life in the nursing profession ended, with no financial support.”
A person who’s been inside Medical Ward 5 said patients were often interacting with AIN’s not trained in dementia care who “set” patients off, and there was a large amount of foreign nurses who’s accents and minimal English skills were causing unintended problems.
“The staff are lovely but this is a dementia ward, the patients don’t want accents, they think they’re in another country,” the visitor said.
In regards to the amount of antipsychotics being prescribed, Mr Keyes said prescriptions were based on the patient’s needs and according to clinical guidelines.
“Sedatives and antipsychotics can pose risks for older people,” he said.
Another source said Medical Ward 5 needed to become more aligned with the mental health unit.
“Mental health has 24 hour security and their staff have extra leave, but we also have dementia and mental health patients but we get nothing,” they said.
“We go home with bruises, violence has become the norm. I love Medical Ward 5, it’s where I want to work, but this needs to stop.”
One nurse said it was only a matter of time before someone got killed again.
“The violence has been ramping up and it’s getting too much,” they said.
“We aren’t getting the safety measures we need.”
Another nurse said they weren’t speaking out to lay blame – all they wanted was safety.
“We are a dedicated, compassionate team who show up every day to care for some of the most vulnerable patients in our health system,” they said.
“I love this ward. I love my colleagues. We are doing our best under increasingly difficult conditions, but we need support.”
Originally published as ‘There is nowhere for them’: The elderly stuck in Medical Ward 5
