Arabic version: إصابة امرأة بجروح خطيرة في هجوم مزعوم بقسم طوارئ مستشفى

According to ABC News, a 73-year-old woman suffered serious facial injuries after she was allegedly attacked by another patient in the emergency department at Princess Alexandra Hospital in Woolloongabba, Brisbane, last month.

Queensland Police said a 43-year-old man allegedly punched the woman in the face “a number of times in an unprovoked attack” shortly before 11:30pm on August 23. Medical staff disrupted the incident and the man was arrested shortly afterwards, police said. He has been charged with grievous bodily harm, remanded in custody and is due to reappear in Brisbane Magistrates Court later this month. The woman has since been discharged from hospital.

Metro South Health said it was aware of an alleged assault involving two unrelated patients and had provided support to the person affected and staff who witnessed it. The health service said security officers are available around the clock and that more than $37 million had been invested in additional security officers, CCTV, body-worn cameras, duress alarms, peer support, hospital ambassadors and staff de-escalation training.

The incident prompted renewed calls for action on violence in emergency departments. Australasian College for Emergency Medicine president Peter Allely described violence as “hugely significant” and “hugely under-reported”, saying overcrowding was the overwhelming driver of increased aggression. An ACEM survey published last year found nine out of 10 respondents had reported one or more incidents of violence by a patient or accompanying person in their emergency department in the previous week.

Queensland Nurses and Midwives’ Union secretary Sarah Beaman said violence and aggression in hospitals were “at crisis point”. She said 82 per cent of respondents to this year’s survey of more than 8,000 union members had experienced occupational violence in the previous 12 months. The union called for investment in the Ambassador Model de-escalation security program and improved reporting systems.