[bakesgirls]

http://www.goldcoast.com.au/article/2013/0...court-news.html

I must admit I was pleased to read of this. As a nurse, I'm all too used to being treated like crap when I am trying to do my job. Last time I was assaulted, I was 22 weeks pregnant and was punched in the face by a patient who was annoyed that I didn't answer his buzzer the second he pressed it, due to the fact that I was with another patient.

[CupOfCoffee]

I agree with what the nurse said in the article... there needs to be zero tolerance on violence and abuse towards our health care professionals. (Zero tolerance to anyone, but it seems that it happens daily in our hospitals).

[Femogan Boop!]

It seems his general threatening behaviour might have had something to do with the ruling but that doesn't sell papers so "convicted for throwing a wet wipe" is the headline.

And I agree with it. There should be zero tolerance for violence directed at health professionals and police.

[Sofia*]

I was prepared to say that's a bit extreme, but it looks as though he was verbally abusive, aggressive and had lost control to the extent where he "forgot" that he even threw anything.
And he "admitted he raised his voice and gave her a firm "dressing down" about her attitude"

Good. I'm glad that people aren't allowed to get away with being aggressive and abusive in public and especially in a place where they are going for assistance.

[smc81]

I'm surprised that any kind of abuse or assault etc towards health professionals wasn't treated the same as if it was done to a police officer. These are people that are caring for others, and should be given the respect they deserve. It should be a blanket rule for fire, ambulance, SES workers as well.

OP, that is a terrible thing to have happen to you.

[Niamh23]

I'm surprised that any kind of abuse or assault etc towards health professionals wasn't treated the same as if it was done to a police officer. These are people that are caring for others, and should be given the respect they deserve. It should be a blanket rule for fire, ambulance, SES workers as well.

I'd add teachers to that list.

[CallMeProtart]

Sounds like the charge was more about his abusive behaviour than the wet wipe.

I also agree there should be no tolerance of abuse to these professionals.
However I do think it was quite mean spirited of her to bin his apology note. How many of these idiots actually apologise - seems a really ungracious response, it's a stressful situation for the relatives of the sick people too.

My dad is in his late 60's and a railway guard, and got randomly punched in the face by some twit The railways are really crap at chasing this stuff up though, so didn't really bother trying to even identify the guy

[Pooks*potters]

Throwing a wet wipe is a bit gross, who knows if it is dirty or whatever. Ew.

Hospitals can be tense places for people, I can understand people getting cranky if they a really upset and getting cut off by the nurse. I also understand the nurse was probably very busy and hears and sees these sorts of things all day long so it's hard to stay 100% respectful. I do think there should be zero tolerance to assault, I'm not excusing his behaviour by any means.

However I also think that in order to reduce these events, we need to improve resources for hospitals.

[epl0822]

The wet wipe itself isn't the issue. Can you imagine being at work doing your job and somebody screams abuse at you and throws something at your face? In a public area where there are other colleagues and clients watching? That is so degrading and humiliating. When you work in an environment where your colleagues are treated with abuse and disdain on a regular basis, I can see why the nurse was scared. She had no way of knowing whether the man's outburst was going to end there or with a knife.

[purplekitty]

I also agree there should be no tolerance of abuse to these professionals.
However I do think it was quite mean spirited of her to bin his apology note. How many of these idiots actually apologise - seems a really ungracious response, it's a stressful situation for the relatives of the sick people too.

She was probably still traumatised and continuing to deal with a queue of worried and distressed people she was triaging.
I don't blame her.