A man is reported to have been struck with a hammer while being treated as a patient at a hospital in Sydney.
In response to an assault report, emergency services quickly arrived at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Camperdown shortly after midnight on Thursday.
Authorities were informed that a woman, allegedly familiar with the 63-year-old victim, entered the hospital and attacked the man who was in a general ward.
Deb Willcox, Chief Executive of the Sydney Local Health District (SLHD), addressed the media, noting that the woman interacted with hospital staff without raising any suspicions prior to the alleged incident.
“I’m advised that the staff did speak to the person who came into the ward and there was no issue, to the best of my knowledge,” Willcox stated.
“There was a conversation between that individual and the staff before she proceeded to the patient’s bedside,” she added.
During the incident, it is alleged the man was struck with a hammer to the head, causing serious injuries. He is fighting for his life in the intensive care unit.
Ms Willcox said hospital staff have attempted to contact his loved ones after the ‘terrible event’.
A patient at Royal Prince Alfred hospital was allegedly attacked by a woman with a hammer in the early hours of Thursday (stock image)
Sydney Local Health District (SLHD) Chief Executive Deb Willcox (pictured) said hospital staff are ‘very fond’ of the patient
‘He’s had a reasonably long length of stay with us, and, by all accounts, (he is) a really lovely person who staff are very fond of,’ she said.
Ms Willcox said the shock incident was not something she had ever experienced, and was ‘distressing’ for hospital staff.
‘They did an outstanding job. You don’t come to work and expect this sort of thing, but their training is so effective,’ she said.
‘They’re just so capable and such good people that they knew exactly what to do.
‘We see people in all sorts of extreme situations. There’s no doubt that this has been a very serious event, and not something that I have been a part of previously.’
No other patients were injured, but Ms Willcox admitted some people are a ‘bit rattled and distressed by the events’.
A 46-year-old woman, identified by The Daily Telegraph as Viki Graham, was arrested at the scene and taken to Newtown Police Station.
She was charged with wounding a person with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and refused bail. She is due to appear in court on Thursday.
The patient is in a critical condition in the intensive care unit (stock image)
Police sources told the Telegraph their investigators are looking into whether the alleged assault is connected to a recent death in the man’s family, including a dispute over a will.
Hospital staff have anonymously told The Sydney Morning Herald they had questions about how the woman entered the man’s ward.
‘This is extremely unsettling,’ a doctor said.
‘I have never in my many years of practice here ever heard of such a thing (happening) here.’
Visitors are not allowed to access general wards after 8pm, but Ms Willcox said it was a ‘very big and busy hospital’.
‘Our hospitals are open buildings. They’re open to the public. Our emergency department doors are open overnight, 24 hours a day, seven days a week,’ she said.
‘There are standard visiting hours, but this is a very big and busy hospital.’
In a statement to the Daily Mail, a spokesperson for SLHD confirmed the hospital is assisting police with their enquiries.
Staff who witnessed this distressing incident have also been given access to the employee assistance program, which allows them the opportunity for confidential debriefings.
