Dealing with Violent Mental Health Crises - A&E: When Patients Attack

I feel for the ones that are genuinely mentally ill, sometimes being aggressive is driven by the absolute fear that they are experiencing.

I can fully attest to the accuracy this episode exposes. I worked 20 years in a neuropsych hospital in Texas, and aggressive, combative patients were a daily thing. Myself, the worst I got was a disslocated jaw and 4 dead teeth from a man who had put 4 big men in the emergency room the within the month prior to clocking me. The medical profession demands that you be physically fit enough to hold your own in the unexpected whilst practicing your " first, do no harm".

It’s a sad state of affairs when it’s come to this. Attacking the people who are trying to help. I’m a nurse and see this regularly.

Bless Scott, he seems like a really nice lad I can only imagine how embarrassed and guilty he felt when they told him what had happened when he fully came round!

My daughter is mentally I'll & wow!!! At times I had to be around & just pray for the ambulance come & get her. But after being sectioned three times, i have, thank God, decided i will try on my own, but with the Mental health team's advice, to never again take her to the hospital but to monitor her myself & see if i can do something to address the suffering of people who are mentally sick. I will hold my daughter hands & support her until my last breath on this earth. It's a very difficult task, but i am determined to help her to live a sane life as much as she can. Mental illness is the worst illness on planet earth.

I was assaulted by a schizophrenic/dementia patient. She snapped my neck and I had two surgeries,a year apart and never recovered. 65% permanently disabled. On the OTHER hand, after hip surgery I had a med reaction, pain meds and Zoloft. I had Serotonin toxicity, lost MY mind, kicked a nurse in the head and had to be tied to the bed! I thank God that I don't remember those three days!

As someone who has been admitted to the psychiatric hospital five separate times, I can say that this behavior from certain patients can be quite unsettling to witness in real life. I once saw a fellow patient throw a chair at a nurse.

I’m so so sorry that you all who work in a&e have to go through this. No matter how poorly i i was (and I’ve been poorly, mentally and physically and emotionally while in a&e) i wouldn’t dream of treating staff like this. All they’re trying to do is help us. I’ve only got praise for the NHS workers. They are a wonderful bunch. Let’s treat them right.

I have worked in ICU and ER for the last 25 years as an RN in the USA. I have both my biceps reattached by surgical means and a CHI thanks to a kick to the temple. Psych patients and ETOH patients are truly a danger to the healthcare team. And PTSD is a real thing for nurses who have been injured like I have others should be believed and treated with more empathy and respect than I got from the hospitals I worked in. To those RN’s and staff that have been injured get help and stay strong you are going to be ok.♥️💚

God bless these doctors, nurses and security ❤❤❤. They are so valuable to todays society.

And this folks is why nurses are leaving the profession

Being aggressive when coming round from surgery is quite common. I was told I was ratty and crappy coming round from spine surgery. The nurses apparently wouldn't put up with my crap and upped whatever it was that kept me quiet and asleep. I was mortified when they told me but they laughed saying it wasn't uncommon with perfectly nice people after a heavy op with lots of anaesthesia.

My brother has schizophrenia. If his meds don't get filled or he misses one...........BOY!!! He can move mountains!

when i was 17 and in hospital a nurse tried to put me in an unsafe environment with my disabilities (autism, ptsd) and infantilised me. I refused to leave the safe environment, calmly, and she tried to grab me. I blocked her without touching her (arm to the side to stop her from walking to my side, I was in a wheelchair) and she called security. Security were SO PISSED with her. they were so sympathetic to me and berated her. the security of the NHS doesn't just protect staff from patients. they protect patients from staff.

Been to hospital twice this last month to a&e with my husband, as he needs surgery. It’s full of drunks, mental health patients and like a druggie drop in. We heard doctors telling some patients who literally go there for not much, this is accident and emergency. You need to be seeing your GP- don’t get me wrong, I know it’s almost impossible to get doc appointments, but it really adds to wait times for people who really do have a life threatening problem. 10 hours we waited each time we had to go in. My husband was in agony. He had a massive gal bladder infection, and also diabetic. And literally some butter walking around in a dressing gown, on drugs and alcohol annoying everyone. Swearing…. We need to sort this out.

A hospital is NOT a hotel 🤷‍♀️

My father was a Dr/surgeon who was murderer whilst at work in the accident & emergency department. He was getting into hs car to actually pick me up from school, I was 9 at the time. There was no security at the time of his murder😢 These security should be in EVERY hostpital. Please, government

I’ve never been violent but I’ve been restrained while trying to leave hospital loads when I was really unwell. Seeing people doing their absolute best to help everyone, regardless of condition or situation is under appreciated. 💙

I’m here in America in Illinois and it’s a felony to assault a health care worker of any kind

I’m a recently retired flight nurse in the USA. I’ve seen and dealt with it all. You can’t even imagine how dangerous a patient like this can be in a helicopter. We had to be so careful and act as best we could to prevent anyone from getting hurt. My heart breaks for truly ill patients who honestly have no control. On the other hand, there are some people who are better dealt with by police and or other agencies. It’s a delicate balance trying to help those who are truly ill and those who just want attention.