Patient attacked and killed in Cork hospital

It's a horrible job working in a hospital. Unsociable hours and there's always the threat of assault. Most nurses I know have been assaulted more than once.

Notwithstanding this case, the biggest danger to patients in a healthcare setting are healthcare workers either through ineptitude, having an unsuitable temperament for the job, fatigue etc.

There are reasons (not just infection control) why healthcare workers don't want relatives hanging around in wards - because then said relatives would witness incompetence and neglect, as I have on several occasions in our public hospitals.

Elderly people on their own in overcrowded hospitals are particularly vulnerable as they often are a) quiet and/or not able to advocate for themselves b) have non specific symptoms resulting in them being "left" or dismissed as just another old person with dementia, clogging up the ward.

The media report says that the victim in this case was "discovered" with critical injuries and that other people witnessed the "aftermath" - I wonder how long he had his injuries before he was discovered.

Where I live there is one policeman stationed in major hospitals. Makes sense.

What you are suggesting isn't practical, nor legal.

Imagine an old person with dementia hits someone in a hospital. They may not even realise they hit someone. Should they be denied medical treatment for the rest of their days. Same for someone with mental health issues.

I work for the HSE and regularly upload incident forms where someone with dementia in a nursing home assaults a staff member. Do we throw them out on the road following an assault? I think not.

The problem with people with mental health issues is the unpredictability so it's very difficult to know if someone with mental health problems is likely to attack someone and to therefore have a security guard present.

A complete fantasy

Why would it not be legal ?

if you threaten a person in any situation, you relinquish certain rights….

a person with dementia bad enough to the point they are assaulting people, will have been diagnosed a long time ago and will have suitable care / assistance planned.

Carlsberg don’t do hospitals!

I was visiting a relative in a Dublin general hospital regularly, late last year.

In the space of two weeks, she was moved three times to different wards on different floors, all of which had issues with 'difficult' patients.

On one ward/floor, we were warned about two unrelated patients, in different wards that tended 'to go at each other'. There were several occasions when I visited where the ward doors were suddenly closed (with patients and visitors inside) while the staff dealt with the two difficult patients because they had met each other on the corridor. My relative spoke of frequently hearing shouting and crashing sounds at all hours of the day and night.

It was not a safe environment and I was glad when my relative was eventually discharged - she insisted on being discharged early, because of lack of sleep and the anxiety caused by other patient behaviour. I don't think there are enough staff, nurses and security to protect everyone from some of the people that you might encounter in hospital these days.

I don't know how the medical staff cope and my heart goes out to the family of the victim in Cork today. It seems that every aspect of the health service is totally screwed up, including the absolute basic right to be safe while in care.

Am I imagining it or did something similar happen within the past year? I seem to recall hearing something very similar but I may be wrong!

There was a teenage girl with life threatening injuries who was sexually assaulted in the intensive care unit of the same hospital not too long ago, I believe the perpetrator received a suspended sentence, only reason it sticks in my mind is because of the lenient sentencing given the heinous and predatory nature of the crime.

I had to visit A&E on two separate weekend nights over the last view months. There can definitely be an air of hostility there if the wrong person comes in, especially if he is in an agitated state because he is under the influence of something. Plenty of abuse gets hurled at the triage nurses too. I don't know if this attack happened in A&E but it doesn't really surprise me unfortunately based on what I've seen.

Horrible story.

But can't say I am entirely surprised...I spent some time not so long ago in James hospital...it was rough...seriously rough.

I was glad oddly when a guy from a prison came into the ward.....he was guarded 24/7 so at least some gardai on the ward...