Box Hill Hospital to get security upgrade after death of surgeon

STAFF at Box Hill Hospital will be able to shut down front entrances if they are attacked by violent patients or visitors.

Patrick Pritzwald-Stegmann. Picture Yuri Kouzmin

STAFF at Box Hill Hospital will be able to shut down front entrances if they are attacked by violent patients or visitors.

In the wake of the death of heart surgeon Patrick Pritzwald-Stegmann, who was allegedly punched in a non-smoking section of the hospital, Eastern Health has moved to toughen up its security measures.

In the latest round of upgrades, Eastern Health chief executive Adjunct Professor David Plunkett said there would be improvements to CCTV cameras at the main entrances to Box Hill, Maroondah and Angliss hospitals; a new lock system that would allow staff or security to lock down front entrances; and swipe-activated door mechanisms to all bedrooms in acute and aged mental health inpatient settings.

Professor Plunkett said Eastern Health has been steadily boosting its security measures across its sites after Mr Pritzwald-Stegmann was allegedly killed last year by Joseph Esmaili.

Mr Pritzwald-Stegmann lived on for about a month before succumbing to his injuries.

“Following the tragic incident at Box Hill Hospital, we had many conversations with our staff regarding what we could do to improve safety,’’ he said.

“We established an Occupational Violence and Aggression Taskforce, which is personally led by me, to review all our practices and identify areas of improvement.”

Security staff at Box Hill, Maroondah and Angliss hospitals were fitted out with body-warn cameras, while 240 personal duress alarms were given to home visiting staff across ambulatory care, mental health and maternity services.

Joseph Esmaili, 23, will go on trial in the Supreme Court of Victoria after Patrick Pritzwald-Stegmann died following a single punch at Box Hill Hospital on May 30 last year.

Esmaili pleaded not guilty to five charges in a committal hearing in Melbourne Magistrates Court on Friday, including recklessly and intentionally causing injury.