Canberra nurses have again expressed concern for their safety inside mental health wards, after graphic photos of another alleged assault on a nurse were posted on social media. The nurses union shared the photos of injuries sustained by a nurse during an assault at Canberra Hospital’s adult mental health unit with a call for “action now”. The photos show cuts, bite marks and bruising allegedly made on a nurse at the mental health unit. The ACT Government confirmed the incident happened on Monday night. The union says there have also been ongoing issues of assaults on nurses at Canberra’s secure Dhulwa facility. In a letter to ACT Health in August, union secretary Matthew Daniel expressed several concerns over safety and cultural issues at the facility raised by nurses at an August meeting. “Nurses injured or witness to reported assaults state that post-incident follow-up and care has been inadequate,” Mr Daniel wrote. “Nurses state that they face the decision to either physically withdraw from the area, which leaves other consumers vulnerable to assault, or remain to protect consumers and other staff and risk being assaulted.”
