Man attacks wife, nurses in hospital delivery room

Hospital has increased presence of security personnel to protect patients, hospital staff from physical violence.

By BEN HARTMAN
Hospital beds 300 (photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski)
Hospital beds 300
(photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski)
A 20-year-old man began behaving erratically in the maternity ward at the Western Galilee Hospital, attacking his estranged wife and attending nurses, the hospital’s management said on Sunday.
According to hospital officials, the man arrived at the maternity ward Sunday morning, several hours after his 19-year-old estranged wife gave birth to a healthy baby boy. Staff at the Nahariya hospital reported that the man appeared to be on edge and something about his behavior seemed suspicious. Nurses accompanied the man to the delivery room and immediately after he entered, he began throwing objects at his estranged wife.
At this point the nurses began struggling to restrain the man, who then attacked them while they called hospital security for assistance. Eventually, security guards managed to subdue the man, who was held until police arrived.
A representative of the hospital management told The Jerusalem Post on Sunday that after the incident took place the hospital reported it to the Health Ministry and that it also held a hearing on Sunday to determine if there were any security mishaps that led to the situation.
He added that in a case where a specific threat is made against a patient, the hospital works to make sure police are on hand to protect the patient and that by and large the hospital has increased the presence of security personnel to protect patients and hospital staff from physical violence.