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An elderly woman in hospital after a stroke has been brutally assaulted by another patient in mental distress.
The victim’s family are furious the woman was attacked in a place of care and questioning how the incident was able to happen.
It’s understood the bashed 82-year-old suffered serious head injuries, uncontrollable bleeding, fractures on her skull and spine, and internal bleeding in her brain, as well as swelling and bruising of her head, neck and tongue.
Photographs of the victim show her lying in a hospital bed with her face almost completely bruised and swollen, and her head heavily bandaged.
The Herald understands the woman had been admitted to Tauranga Hospital for a minor stroke. It’s believed the other patient was supposed to have a minder but managed to overpower them before attacking the victim.
An 82-year-old woman who was in Tauranga Hospital for a stroke was badly beaten by another patient on December 2.
A police spokesperson confirmed they were making inquiries after a patient was injured at the hospital on December 2.
Tauranga Hospital has refused to comment, referring media inquiries to police.
A family member told SunLive the other patient entered the woman’s room about 6am, took a shower chair from a bathroom and assaulted her as she slept.
“We are really upset about how this could happen when someone has a stroke and goes into hospital for care, and then suffers such a traumatic attack from another patient,” the family member told SunLive.
“There has been no acknowledgment of remorse from the male patient or his immediate family.
“This leaves us feeling unsafe in a hospital environment.”
The Herald also understands the attacker was mentally distressed at the time of the incident.
It comes after a rise in violent incidents in the country’s hospitals, including attacks on staff.
More than 150 nurses at Auckland City Hospital signed their names to a letter warning of dire staffing shortages in its emergency department in recent months that were putting workers and patients in danger.
The document, submitted on October 4, called for a ratio of no more than four acute patients to every nurse in the ED and for gaps in the roster to be filled by “appropriately skilled” staff.
