Blacktown, NSW.
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A patient confined at Blacktown Hospital punched Ms. Castro-Rivera in the face before attacking her with a butter knife taken from the kitchen.
The hospital general manager Dominic Dawson defended his security measures after a female nurse was stabbed several times with a butter knife in the emergency department.
Edith Castro-Rivera, 48, was stabbed in the arms, back and chest by a 39-year-old male patient while she worked at her computer at about 2am. It was the second attack on a night-shift nurse at Blacktown Hospital in less than a year. Ms Castro-Rivera has told colleagues she is unlikely to return to her job [in the hospital].
During the investigation, Mr Dawson defended the hospital’s security measures and refused to draw on comparisons between the most recent attack and one that occurred in October last year.
“Our security is very high,” Mr Dawson said. “The incident was a very different circumstance, there was a full investigation and out of that process the area in which the security incident occurred has been remodified and is currently in the process of that modification being finalised.
“We have sufficient alarms, we have our alarms tested at all times, staff are aware of what to do in the event of an emergency, so that will continue.” Mr. Dawson said Ms. Castro-Rivera has already been discharged from the hospital and is recovering at home with the full support of the hospital.
“I met with our staff member … before she was discharged and expressed my heart-felt sympathies to her,” he said.
The incident has sparked outrage among nurses, who walked off the job to call for cutlery and crockery to be removed from emergency departments.
Blacktown MP John Robertson joined the call for a full investigation. “This is a sad day for everyone associated with Blacktown Hospital and I know the brave nurse is in the wider Blacktown and nursing community’s thoughts,” Mr Robertson said.
“Nurses in Blacktown and across NSW do an outstanding job caring for members of our community when they need it most and this incident highlights how dangerous this work can sometimes be.
“It is absolutely vital our nurses and hospital staff feel safe at work each and every day.”