EXCLUSIVE: Vic, 73, went to hospital hoping to be cared for. Instead, he says he was choked by a security guard who refused to let him leave.Â
For over a year, the retiree has been striving to achieve justice and recently succeeded in acquiring footage from a body-worn camera that captures the event.
The hospital claims Vic was the instigator, but Vic says he’s the victim.
”That’s me throat, you’re hurting me throat,” audio from the bodycam footage records Vic saying.
Pushed down and restrained to a hospital chair, the 73-year-old pleaded for mercy as a security guard grabbed his throat.
“I’m still disgusted what they did to me, you shouldn’t do that, and the hospital did nothing about it,” he told 9News.
Vic says the footage is hard to watch, even 15 months later.
“What they did to me was terrible, and nobody cares,” he said.
The retiree took himself to Monash Health’s Moorabbin Hospital in March last year, with a cyst in his throat and emphysema.
He needed a tracheostomy but was unhappy with how he was being treated.
“I was disgusted with how I was being treated so I wanted to go to another hospital, he wouldn’t let me go, I was his property,” he said.
The situation became tense.
Vic said he struggled to hear with his cochlear implant before he was pushed back into his seat.
“He’s being aggressive, he needs to be medicated,” the hospital worker could be heard saying during the struggle.
Vic complained to Monash Health and Victoria Police, accumulating a mountain of correspondence.
“I’m like an old tin can that’s been kicked down the road,” he told 9News.
“Your actions turned aggressive as you grabbed a fire extinguisher while it was still mounted on the wall … the staff on-site felt endangered,” Monash Health communicated to the retiree in an email.
“I was angry because they wouldn’t let me go, I was angry because they were assaulting me,” Vic said.
“What am I supposed to do?”
A spokesperson from Monash Health said it has a duty to protect patients and staff, and it concluded that “all teams involved acted appropriately”.
“Monash Health is obligated to undertake all feasible measures, including calming interventions, to ensure the safety of both patients and staff from aggressive behavior, which includes implementing measures to prevent patients from causing harm to themselves.”
“Monash Health conducted a thorough review of this incident, concluding that all teams involved acted appropriately. We also supported Victoria Police in investigating the matter.
“We are unable to provide further comment due to strict patient privacy obligations.”
