BNA renews call for stronger protections after attack

The Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) is increasing surveillance and strengthening security on its wards after a patient struck a nurse in the Accident and Emergency Department on Wednesday night, renewing calls for tougher penalties for attacks on healthcare workers.

The Barbados Nurses Association (BNA) said the incident has brought renewed attention to proposals for stronger legal protection submitted to the Ministry of Health last year, which it says have yet to receive an official response.

The hospital confirmed that a male nurse was reportedly assaulted around 8 p.m. while attending to a patient. The person who struck him was another patient living with Alzheimer’s disease.