‘i was attacked by one of my patients.. but i still love job’
A NURSE was left battling insomnia and nightmares after being attacked by a patient – but still loves her job.
Caoimhe O’brien, who works in Dublin’s Tallaght Hospital, was targeted by a thug on Christmas Day in 2014, just a few months into her first post.
The 27-year-old said: “I went into a room where there was a patient with a high risk of assault who was trying to climb out of a bed.
“I went over to talk to him and assist him back to bed and he grabbed me and assaulted me.”
Caoimhe revealed she was left with bruises and required a tetanus shot.
She added: “As soon as the hospital managers heard about the incident they were appalled.
“They brought me down to A&E and they were brilliant.
“There was security put with that patient and as soon I was OK I went home. The hospital supported me in going to gardai and I made the decision not to as there were no witnesses to corroborate it. It was my decision.”
After the attack, Caoimhe revealed she began to suffer from insomnia and sometimes “dreaded” going into work.
She said: “If a patient would start getting agitated, I’d get anxious in regards to, ‘Is something going to happen again?’ And my mood was quite low.
“I don’t think about it very much but when I do talk about it I still become quite upset by it.
“I love being a nurse. I worked hard to be able to call myself a nurse. I qualified in 2014 after four hard years of college.”
Caoimhe is engaged but says she and her fiance won’t be tying the knot until at least the end of 2021 as they are finding it hard to save.
She added: “We would get married in the morning if we had the money. We just can’t afford it.”