Attackers hid behind a wall before assaulting two medics at Middlemore Hospital, breaking one of the staff members’ collar bone. The registered nurse and healthcare assistant, who work in the intensive care unit, were leaving work after nightshift at 7am on Saturday. Counties Manukau Health chief executive Margie Apa said the unprovoked attack happened near the entrance to the hospital’s western car park. It is not clear what the motive of the attack was, but its understood the attackers were laying in wait. The attack comes after protests last year over safety at the staff car park at the hospital, which has been described as dangerous by the New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO).
