Two Men in Hospital After Alleged Stabbing at Broadmeadow Station

BY OLIVIA DILLON

A man is in police custody after another man was allegedly stabbed at a train station in Newcastle this morning.

Emergency services were called to Broadmeadow Train Station about 10:15am, following reports a man had suffered a stab wound to his abdomen.

He's been taken to John Hunter Hospital in a stable condition, after being treated at the scene by paramedics.

Police reportedly deployed capsicum spray in order to arrest the alleged offender outside the station.

He's been taken to the Calvary Mater Hospital where he remains under police guard.

Officers from the Newcastle City Police District have established a crime scene and an investigation is now underway into the circumstances surrounding the event. 

Young doctors feeling fatigue at the John Hunter

BY OLIVIA DILLON

A new survey has revealed high levels of fatigue in young Hunter doctors.

Data from the 2022 Australian Medical Association NSW Survey indicates 54% of doctors-in-training at John Hunter Hospital felt they had made a fatigue-induced error while working. 

This was higher than the state average of 46%. 

52% also reported experiencing a heavy or very heavy inpatient workload.

In comparison, 32% of Maitland Hospital workers, and 45% at the Calvary Mater, felt they had made a mistake due to tiredness. 

Figures out of the Mater also indicate 73% of staff members were concerned about their health and safety in regards to their roster. 

The results come after the COVID-19 pandemic shook the region, with staff furloughs meaning doctors were forced to cover shifts for sick staff members. 

AMA NSW Doctors-in-Training Committee co-chair Dr Sanjay Hettige, told Newcastle Herald the pandemic had both increased and highlighted the pressure felt by young doctors. 

And, Executive Director of Medical Services at Hunter New England Health, Professor Trish Davidson said improving these statistics is a significant focus moving forward. 

NSW Health Minister to Review Issues with Hunter Hospitals

BY ALICE PEART

Wallsend MP Sonia Hornery has met with the state Health Minister to raise concerns from the community over key issues in the Hunter health system.

Ms Hornery said it was a brief but productive discussion covering three things:

"It was about security guards and ensuring that we can look at a review of what we need in hospitals to make sure that staff and patients are safe.

We looked at waiting times and we also talked about the congestion and gridlock that's at the John Hunter Hospital with an emphasis on the mornings and afternoons and our quest to reinstate the shuttle service, because we know it was a very successful and popular service".

Reviews into the issues are expected to be initiated in the coming weeks with Ms Hornery saying she will be keeping a close eye on the process and that she expects the Minister to be accountable for some outcomes.

Renewed Calls for Additional Hospital Security

BY ALICE PEART


Wallsend MP Sonia Hornery has renewed her calls for additional security guards to be employed across NSW hospitals following an attack on a staff member by a patient early yesterday morning at the Mater Hospital.

A 22-year old male patient attempted to stab a security guard with a pair of scissors who suffered cuts and scratches to the face.

Ms Hornery has called for an additional 250 security guards across NSW, with some of those allocated to the John Hunter and Mater hospitals, better training for those staff and for security guards to be given authority to detain violent patients.

"It is about making sure we have adequate security guards on deck to protect one another and to protect the staff and patients", she told 2NURFM today.

The issue of security in NSW hospitals has been reviewed multiple times in recent years.

The latest findings however make no explicit reference to increasing the number of security guards nor the detaining of patients. The review by former police and health minister Peter Anderson made 48 recommendations, particularly highlighting the importance of changing the culture around security services including clothing, punitive attitudes and refraining from acting as a "nightclub bouncer".

Contrary to the call for the detaining of violent patients, NSW Health has advocated for the minimising of patient seclusion and restraint. Changes which have been implemented successfully in the Creating Positive Cultures of Care program at the John Hunter NEXUS facility.

The attack at the Mater follows others on local emergency service workers in the past fortnight.

Ms Hornery says the priority should be keeping patients and staff safe, "Our staff go to work everyday and they deserve to be kept safe and in a position where they are not threatened by violence".