A nurse stabbed in the neck with a makeshift weapon while on duty in Perth is recovering at home, as the state government vows to better protect frontline hospital staff.
The 55-year-old was helping a patient in a multi-bed ward at Royal Perth Hospital in the early hours of Sunday morning when she was set upon.
West Australian Health Minister Roger Cook said the accused man had been a patient at the hospital for about 12 hours and had been moved from the emergency department to the acute surgical ward where the assault happened.
He described it as a cowardly attack from behind that happened "almost out of the blue", and said it was disturbing that such dangerous aggression could escalate from a calm situation.
"No attack on a member of our staff providing care for patients is acceptable. I won't stand for it," Mr Cook told reporters on Monday.
"We're going to have to undertake a very deep and significant investigation into this to make sure we can better respond to these situations and protect our frontline nurses.
"We've already done a number of things, including our $2.2 million frontline staff security measures, and we'll continue to work with the health service providers."
The minister visited the hospital on Sunday.
"Everyone is shaken, everyone is disturbed by the nature of this violence and the speed with which it came on," he said.
But opposition health spokesman Sean L'Estrange said the government must do more, starting with extra money and resources for emergency departments.
Police have charged a 30-year-old Gnowangerup man with aggravated assault on a public officer and possession of a controlled weapon in a manner likely to cause injury.
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