Woman allegedly assaults man in hospital bed
Updated ,first published
A man is fighting for his life after he was allegedly attacked with a hammer in his bed at Royal Prince Alfred hospital on Thursday morning.
Viki Graham, 46, allegedly entered Camperdown hospital at 12.15am and spoke calmly to staff before entering the man’s four-bed room on the general ward and striking him in the head.
Initial police investigations suggested the 63-year-old man was related to Graham but they were not in a domestic relationship.
The man, who was seriously injured in the head, is on life support in the hospital’s intensive care unit. The NSW Police Homicide Squad was put on standby at around 4am due to concerns about the man’s condition.
Sydney Local Health District chief executive Deb Willcox described the patient as a “really lovely person” who spent a “reasonably” long stay in hospital.
“This is just a terrible incident,” he said. “The patient is well known to the staff who care deeply about that person and our primary concern is their well-being.”
Willcox said staff took action quickly and no other patients were affected.
“Obviously this is a very sad incident. [staff] involved.”
Willcox said he would review how the incident was handled to determine any “learning.”
Graham was taken to Newtown Police Station where he was charged with causing grievous bodily harm. He was denied bail to appear in court on Thursday.
Visitors are not allowed into RPA’s general wards after 8pm, but staff can visit family members after visiting hours and the doors of the emergency department are always open to the public.
“We’re here to care about the community,” Willcox said. “Our staff is extremely talented. They’re trained for this type of thing and [did] “Everything was in order and unfortunately everyone is safe except our beloved patient.”
Several senior RPA clinicians said they were shocked that such an incident had occurred at the hospital.
“This is extremely disturbing,” said a doctor who spoke on condition of anonymity. “I’ve never heard of anything like this in all the years I’ve worked here. [happening] Here.”
Staff said the hospital has a relatively high security presence, primarily to help manage patients with behavioral disorders or who are affected by drugs.
However, visiting hours in the wards were mainly supervised by nurses, who were instructed to ask members of the public to leave the premises outside working hours.
NSW hospitals are struggling with rising levels of violence and aggression, but a brutal attack allegedly carried out by a member of the public on a patient is extremely rare.
In June 2024, a security guard was allegedly stabbed and several nurses were injured by a man in Westmead Hospital’s emergency department.
A recent survey found that 88 per cent of nurses, midwives and carers had experienced violence in the past year, with public hospital staff the most exposed.
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Daniel Lo Surdo is a breaking news reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald. He previously ran The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age’s national news live blog.Connect via email.
