QA Hospital patient left nurse with cut lip and bruises after violent attack during treatment

Senior sister Sue Morris, who works in Neuro Rehabilitation at Queen Alexandra Hospital treating patients with brain injuries, was left shaken when someone she was caring for became violent and aggressive.

Equipment was thrown causing significant damage to hospital property and when Sue approached, she was physically attacked, suffering cuts above her eye and lip and a lot of bruising.

She said: ‘I was really shocked at the time as I totally didn’t expect it. It was really scary.

‘It’s really disrespectful to lash out at people who are only trying to help, and I think it’s totally unacceptable.'

As a result the police were called and the patient was required to attend an inappropriate behaviour awareness class and send letters of apology to both Sue and the rest of the department.

Emergency department registrar Jennifer Joiner faced verbal abuse earlier this year from a young male patient.

She said: ‘He was unwell and needed life saving treatment, but he was definitely not delirious and was fully aware of the vile language he was using. We continued to treat him because we have a duty of care, but it was very hard for everyone to deal with.

‘At one point, he was even threatening to hurt or kill people. We took steps to make sure we were safe, but everyone felt extremely distressed and upset by this experience.’

The patient was sent a warning letter about his unacceptable behaviour.

It comes as part of the Cosham hospital's Respect and Protect campaign which has a zero tolerance on abuse towards staff and has seen patients warned consequences could include being removed from hospital and having to travel miles away for treatment.

Staff can now report incidents on an internal programme which is then reviewed by the security management team can review it and further action can be taken.

Earlier this year The News reported that A&E doctor David Connor was punched in the face by an irate drunk patient who was furious about having to wait.