Hospital doctors working in fear

Doctors in Victoria's emergency departments are working in fear of psychotic, drug-fuelled and aggressive patients.

Two-thirds believe the departments have become increasingly violent, the Herald Sun doctors survey has revealed.

Only 10 per cent of those polled denied they were becoming more dangerous, with a quarter saying they could not comment.

Doctors used the survey to call for legislative changes to protect medical, nursing and health staff as the number of serious assaults in the emergency departments increases.

"Patients are becoming more abusive and demanding, due to the lack of resources that staff have available," one doctor said.

Another demanded "more protection of staff in emergency departments, with the ability to turn away violent/abusive patients".

Last December a Herald Sun investigation showed serious attacks involving weapons or resulting in injury had soared 60 per cent in a year at 12 of Victoria's largest emergency departments.

Health workers have fled their jobs after being attacked or threatened, while others have been left suffering post-traumatic stress, depression or drug and alcohol problems.

The issue has prompted the Australian Medical Association to call for safe rooms to isolate aggressive and mentally ill patients, banning repeat offenders and installing metal detectors at high-risk emergency wards.

A decade after beginning his career in emergency departments, Dr Nathan Bushby, 34, is in no doubt the violence is escalating.

In January, Dr Bushby was working at a Melbourne hospital emergency department when a person affected by the drug "ice" bit him on the arm, which required treatment.

Weeks later a colleague was treating a teenager with a chest complaint when her drunk mother pulled a knife and threatened the doctor if he did not do more tests.

Dr Bushby said the fear of danger was taking a toll on many health workers.

"When I was bitten, I was inserting a drip into him as he was shackled to the bed because he was so violent. But he managed to swing his head around and bite me," he said.

"The guy has bitten you, but you are still obliged to treat him, that is the frustrating thing. You wonder why you bother helping these people."

Having seen teams of five security guards regularly called to "take down" violent patients, Dr Bushby said he was concerned that police were increasingly using emergency departments as dumping grounds for people with violent personality disorders.

Source: Grant McArthur, Heald Sun