Assault on five staff revealed

A man is facing serious charges after five staff members at Taranaki’s mental health ward were assaulted, it has been revealed.

Injuries included significant bruising, swelling and concussion. One person had to have stitches on her top lip and another had suspected cracked ribs, Taranaki District Health Board clinical management services director Wendy Langlands said in an emailed statement.

The violence occurred on September 30 but details have only now come to light.

‘‘Staff were responding to an emergency alarm in the inpatient unit and did not have the time to plan their response and enter the area as a team. A hospital security guard was also in attendance and assisted staff,’’ Langlands said.

Initially, Langlands played down the severity of the attack, which has resulted in increased security at Te Puna Waiora, saying one staff member had received a laceration requiring sutures to her top lip, and other staff received bruises.

However, when confronted with the serious nature of the charges she added more details.

‘‘We initially provided a high level summary of the injuries, but this does not minimise the extent of how significant this assault was nor the effect it had on our staff. The injuries resulted in staff having time off to recover.’’

Support was made available immediately to staff.

A dedicated security guard for the mental health unit had been put in place, Langlands said.

‘‘The incident was reviewed and practise improvement recommendations have been made. Ongoing support for staff is also in place for those who need it.’’

Taranaki DHB took the safety of its staff extremely seriously and was ‘‘saddened by this incident’’, Langlands said.

‘‘Staff who took time off work due to the incident received daily welfare phone calls for support from their line manager.’’

Taranaki DHB’s primary focus was for everyone to feel safe in their workplace and a new security project to achieve this was launched in late September with further initiatives to be developed in early 2019, Langlands said.

‘‘Staff are provided with specialised training regarding deescalation and restraint techniques. A 24-hour security guard is also now in place for the inpatient unit.’’

A man has been charged with five counts of injures with intent to injure. He has pleaded not guilty and has elected trial by jury.

He will reappear in the New Plymouth District Council in January 24.