Fight at hospital to be investigated – Health Minister

Security issues at the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital (MCMH) have come to the fore once again following an altercation on Wednesday involving a uniformed nurse stationed at the Kingstown Clinic.

Reports are that sometime after 9 am, a woman in civilian clothing walked into the clinic and attacked a staff nurse. The resulting drama was recorded by a patient at the clinic and has been making the rounds on social media since.

The 16-second video recording shows the nurse dressed in her uniform and blue gloves exchanging blows with a woman in a gold bonnet, black top, pink skirt and slippers while someone off camera calls to the nurse. The fight is eventually broken up by staff members.

A source told SEARCHLIGHT on Wednesday, September 4 that both women in the recording are neighbours in Campden Park and the incident may have stemmed from a dispute between the two families. It was also revealed that the woman in the civilian clothing is also employed at the hospital as a ward assistant at the Accident and Emergency (A&E) Department but was off duty at the time of the incident.

When contacted on Wednesday, Minister of Health St. Clair “Jimmy” Prince said he saw the recording but was not certain what caused the incident.

He said a full investigation is expected to be carried out and he used the opportunity to condemn acts of violence against the nation’s health personnel.

A worker at the hospital told SEARCHLIGHT on Wednesday that on August 22 a male, in his thirties, pushed a female nurse from behind after which the nurse fell on her face and sustained bruises and other injuries and is currently on sick leave.

The worker also noted that a couple weeks before the August 22 incident, a patient slapped a nurse and from periodically, nurses are assaulted and security officers oftentimes choose not to get involved.

“They tell us they are being paid to watch the building,” the worker said while adding that hospital staff are not only sometimes physically abused but are, on a daily basis, verbally abused.

“My thing is, nothing comes out of anything. Why? Because the patient is always right. The patient is sick. Nurses will never get justice for any form of abuse. Nurses are at the bottom of the barrel,” the worker said.

This is the second publicized act of violence at the nation’s main healthcare facility this year.

On Tuesday, March, 19, 2024 an attempt was made on the life of a male patient, Ottley Hall resident Connel ‘Skiddo’ Westfield, who was nursing gunshot wounds to his abdomen on the male surgical ward.

Westfield had escaped death by the gun on Sunday March 17,2024 but was shot again as he lay in hospital where he was being treated for the gunshot wounds.

The police later said in a release that an unidentified individual bypassed security measures at the checkpoints of the hospital and gained unauthorized access to the hospital grounds.

“This person was seeking a particular male patient and, upon locating him, discharged a firearm twice at the individual before making an attempt to escape the vicinity,” the police said.

The incident prompted the Ministry of Health to issue immediate, revised visiting protocols for the affected ward.

At that time, nurses at the hospital called for stricter and more sustained security measures, noting that some nurses have been left traumatised by the shooting incident.

During the Westfield incident, it is alleged that the gunman mistakenly shot himself while trying to make his escape and was apprehended but no charges have ever been laid.