‘I dread going in each day’

Hospital student nurse:

Student nurses are more scared than ever for their safety after another latenight attack near Christchurch Hospital.

One has told of carrying scissors in her pocket for security while walking to her car after a late shift. The nurses union has lamented the lack of security near the hospital and a Canterbury District Health Board (CDHB) member has described the ongoing lack of parking as ‘‘embarrassing’’.

In the latest incident, a student nurse was left wounded after a man armed with a knife allegedly robbed and assaulted her on Hagley Ave after she left work about 10.30pm on Thursday.

‘‘Police responded quickly and arrested the alleged offender in the vicinity a short time later,’’ Senior Sergeant Paul Reeves said.

Police alleged the man stole the woman’s handbag, laptop and other personal possessions, then ran off. The woman, a student at Ara, was taken to hospital and treated for her injuries. She has since been discharged. The victim’s family said she was ‘‘doing good’’ and ‘‘getting a lot of support’’.

The CDHB said in a statement that the woman was seriously assaulted and staff were ‘‘very concerned’’ by the attack. A spokeswoman said staff and students had been advised how to keep safe on their way to and from work when it was dark, including suggested walking routes where there were security patrols close to the hospital and a staff shuttle that would take employees to staff car parks between 8pm and 1am.

She said incidents like this were ‘‘rare’’ and security would be on ‘‘heightened alert’’. It is the fifth such reported incident around the hospital in the last two and a half years and has left nurses on edge.

Student nurse Jayda Taiepa, 20, said she always clutched a pair of scissors in her pocket on the 20-minute walk to her car after a shift, or called her mother so someone knew exactly where she was.

‘‘[It’s] crazy I feel I have to do that. I dread going in each day purely for the anxiety I feel while I’m walking.’’

She said while many of her friends were able to be dropped off and picked up, that ‘‘wasn’t a reality for everyone’’. Student nurses were now more terrified than ever, she said, especially as some did not leave work until after 11pm, and they were not told about the park-andride shuttle services.

The New Zealand Nursing Organisation (NZNO) has expressed concerns about the lack of safe car parking for afternoon staff since 2015. Members started a petition asking hospital managers to provide safe and adequate car parking options in February last year after a series of incidents – including one where a masked man approached a worker from behind and pressed what may have been a firearm into the back of her head.

NZNO organiser Christin Watson said it was ‘‘frustrating’’. He knew first hand the long-lasting effect an attack could have on the victim and other hospital staff. ‘‘Someone I know well was attacked [near Christchurch Hospital] a while ago and it really stuck with her. At first she felt unsafe walking . . . but then she was really angry. She was doing all the right things but the security in place was not in place to make sure she got back to her car safely and that seems unfair.’’

The prospect of walking alone at night

‘‘The [Christchurch City] council should have held the Government to account and the Government has dropped the ball.’’ CDHB member Aaron Keown

could be ‘‘horrendous’’ for staff.

The only long-term solution was to provide more accessible parking, ideally on the site bought by O¯ ta¯ karo and earmarked for the new metro sports facility, he said. He acknowledged available land was a problem and the CDHB was ‘‘working with what they’ve got’’.

CDHB member Aaron Keown said it was ‘‘embarrassing’’ how long the issue of inadequate parking had plagued the hospital. No-one was taking ownership for a parking plan, he said.

The delayed metro sports facility development was the main problem, he said. ‘‘The [Christchurch City] council should have held the Government to account and the Government has dropped the ball.’’

Tane Faatafa, 18, appeared by audio visual link in the Christchurch District Court yesterday charged with injuring with intent to injure the student nurse, wounding the woman with intent, robbing her of a handbag, laptop, and other personal items while armed with a knife, and unlawfully having a knife in a public place. Faatafa will stay in custody while a legal aid application is processed. Judge Stephen O’Driscoll remanded him to April 30.