A broken jaw and other facial injuries have resulted in charges against a 30-year-old psychiatric patient from Penticton Regional Hospital.
According to Sgt. Rick Dellebuur of Penticton RCMP, police responded Friday at around 4:00 p.m. to the hospital where they received a call of a psychiatric patient who had attacked a doctor and who “was continuing to cause problems in the unit”. The doctor suffered a broken jaw and other facial injuries from the attack.
Penticton Regional Hospital. (Photo Credit: Google Maps)
RCMP arrested the patient, now identified as 30-year-old Gregory Stanley Nield, at the scene without further incident. On Monday, RCMP charged Nield with assault causing bodily harm and aggravated assault. Nield appeared in Penticton court on Monday, and will appear again on Tuesday. Currently, Nield remains in police custody.
The B.C. Nurses' Union spoke on the attack earlier on Monday, saying that the patient had calmly walked out of a closed door session with the physician to announce the doctor might be dead. They have also called for change in security measures for health care staff. “Does someone have to die before the health authority starts providing basic safety measures such as personal alarms in forensic and psychiatric facilities?” asked Gayle Duteil, President of the B.C. Nurses' Union.
Interior Health has said they will be reviewing the incident with RCMP and WorkSafeBC to prevent similar attacks in the future.
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