Disturbing footage shows doctors, nurses and ambos being physically assaulted
Doctors and nurses in hospitals are 10 times more likely to be attacked than workers in most other professions, new figures show.
Seven News has obtained surveillance video of some of these attacks – footage that authorities have spent 18 months trying to stop being shown.
At Sutherland Hospital, a nurse is caught in the firing line with an out-of-control patient.
The fight spills into the emergency waiting room.
In the ambulance bay, a patient tosses his blanket away and throws a punch.
In the first half of 2017, 105 attacks on medical staff were reported in New South Wales.
A recent parliamentary inquiry made 47 recommendations to make hospitals safer, including accurate reportage of how many attacks occur, ensuring no medical officers are alone when treating a patient, and staff undergoing violence prevention training.
For Health Services Union New South Wales' Gerald Hayes, the recommendations are "hot air".
"A lot of talk, a lot of hot air, and at the end of the day sitting on the Minister's desk is 47 recommendations that have not progressed," he said.
NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard said: "I think we do need to have the maximum security in our hospitals and indeed on the front line for our ambulances.
"How we achieve that is a challenge, and obviously I'm listening."
It took Seven News 18 months to be able to show this security video.
Health District officers tried to prevent its broadcast, but the State Review Tribunal believed the public should see the attacks to see just what goes on inside the state's hospitals.
"Maybe this will be the catalyst for people to say something needs to be done and done urgently, and resourced appropriately," Mr Hayes said.
