Bullied after assault: nurse

A FORMER emergency department nurse has told a court he was bullied by his supervisors after fighting off an attack by a drunk patient in the Cairns Hospital.

Lance Armstrong-Waters, of Babinda, is suing the Queensland Government for lost earnings since the January 2014 incident, which he alleged resulted in shoulder and knee injuries and PTSD.

He said his managers turned on him after he fought off the assault.

“I had accusations and bullying and I felt the whole process intimidating,” Mr Armstrong-Waters said.

Mr Armstrong-Waters told the court he was on duty at the Cairns Hospital ED as a fasttrack nurse whose duties included care for less-than-acute patients.

On January 19 he had less than an hour to go before handing over his shift to a relieving nurse when he ap- proached two men resting under blankets in the ED waiting area.

“I asked” ‘Are you ready?’” Mr Armstrong-Waters said.

He told the court he removed the blankets, only to be assaulted by one of the men.

“I tried to stop his attack and defend myself. I managed to hold his arm in a pinion position,” he said.

CCTV footage showed Mr Armstrong-Waters restrain and escort the man from the ED. He said the patient had a known history of violence.

He said he came under fire by the Clinical Nurse Consultant soon after the attack.

“She was quite hostile. She was using words like, ‘You had no right to restrain him. You are in a lot of trouble. I should call the police’.”

He said a second supervisor accused him of assaulting the patient. Counsel for Mr ARmstrong-Waters, Chris Ryall, told Cairns District Court the hospital failed “to follow guidelines formulated in the emergency department.”