Covid 19 Omicron outbreak: Positive test Covid-denier at Dunedin Hospital ED 'lost the plot'

An incident in Dunedin Hospital's emergency department last weekend has highlighted the pressures medical staff are under.

A witness to the incident said a Covid-19 denier who presented in the department subsequently tested positive for the disease and "absolutely lost the plot".

The witness said the man refused to wear a mask, abused the doctor treating him, coughed repeatedly and openly, and yelled out that it was all a hoax.

"Then he got very aggressive and was threatening to kill and assault the doctors and staff there."

Security intervened and escorted the man away, the witness said.

"I don't care what we're paying frontline staff, because it's absolutely not enough to be dealing with this."

Hospital staff, particularly emergency department staff, are regularly subjected to verbal abuse while at work.

Those occasions are seldom reported, although physical attacks are logged.

Photo / Peter McIntosh

Dunedin police did not have a record of being called to such an incident and Southern District Health Board chief operating officer Hamish Brown said he was unaware of any event that matched the account provided to the Otago Daily Times by the witness.

"Over the weekend there were several incidents where patients were verbally aggressive towards staff," he said.

"These were de-escalated by staff and did not result in contact with police."

Last week, the SDHB pleaded with the public to respect the difficulties its staff were working under with Covid-19 restrictions after nurses in particular reported worse-than-usual abuse from some members of the public.

"Our staff deserve to come to work and feel safe in their role. We understand that people may be frustrated with the additional Covid-19 safety measures in our hospital, however, any aggression towards our staff is not acceptable," Brown said.