All Access. All in one subscription. From $2 per week
Subscribe now

All Access Weekly

From $2 per week
Pay just
$15.75
$2
per week ongoing
Subscribe now
BEST VALUE

All Access Annual

Pay just
$449
$49
per year ongoing
Subscribe now
Learn more
30
NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • Deloitte Fast 50
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / New Zealand

Hutt Hospital nurse recounts 'traumatising' attack in emergency department

Melissa Nightingale
By Melissa Nightingale
Senior Reporter, NZ Herald - Wellington·NZ Herald·
10 Jun, 2019 11:46 PM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save
    Share this article
Vicki Bulmer suffered a severe concussion in the December 26 attack. Photo / Supplied
Vicki Bulmer suffered a severe concussion in the December 26 attack. Photo / Supplied

Vicki Bulmer suffered a severe concussion in the December 26 attack. Photo / Supplied

A Lower Hutt nurse has only just returned to full hospital duties six months after a violent assault in the emergency department.

Vicki Bulmer was severely concussed when a patient "on a rampage" attacked her and several of her colleagues while they tried to provide care to her.

Bulmer was working in the emergency department of the Hutt Hospital on December 26 when an emergency call came on, which she believed meant a patient needed urgent medical care.

"Unbeknownst to me it was a security incident, but it came up as a generic emergency," she said.

"As I was responding to the alarm, I want to go through some automatic doors. The person who assaulted us pushed through the doors and came through them swinging."

All Access. All in one subscription. From $2 per week
Subscribe now

All Access Weekly

From $2 per week
Pay just
$15.75
$2
per week ongoing
Subscribe now
BEST VALUE

All Access Annual

Pay just
$449
$49
per year ongoing
Subscribe now
Learn more
30
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The patient, who had been brought in by a specialist team for care and was "unhappy with her life" punched Bulmer in the face.

"I didn't see it coming. The force made me stagger back and I hit my head against a reinforced concrete wall."

The attacker punched two of Bulmer's colleagues and threw a wooden children's play table at another, causing the victim neck and back injuries.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"She was on a rampage, really," she said.

The patient was sentenced in the Hutt Valley District Court yesterday for the attack, which took Bulmer months to recover from.

"I had three months off work with the head injury, then a further two and bit months graduated return to work.

"I wasn't able to look after my four young children ... I had to wear ear muffs at home because I couldn't tolerate any noise. With 1-year-old twins it's not ideal.

Discover more

New Zealand

Attacks on ED staff 'simply part of the job'

07 Jun 02:00 PM
New Zealand

Toddler death: Three doctors ignored suspected abuse

06 May 04:06 AM
New Zealand

Bashed hospital guard faces months of recovery

04 Jun 02:01 AM
New Zealand

Hawke's Bay hospital nurses ending shifts 'in tears' as working conditions bite, union claims

07 Jun 05:24 AM

"You don't realise until it happens to you how much energy it takes to do just normal tasks every day, how much concentration is required."

Bulmer said the sentencing came at a good time and provided some closure for her and her colleagues, though she wasn't sure the sentence reflected the level of violence involved.

The attack was "pretty traumatising".

"You go to work and expect to feel safe. In the more than 15 years working in the emergency department, I've never felt as unsafe as I currently have been."

Staff were dealing with under-resourcing and patients having to wait a long time for care.

"It all impacts on people's attitudes and quite often we're experiencing violence, whether that be verbal or physical."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

She and her colleagues' leave after the incident added up to about a year, which left the District Health Board "in a lurch".

"I think it's a shame that perhaps the public don't quite realise the extent of violence that is occurring, that this is not an isolated case. This happens regularly."

Hutt Valley DHB acting chief executive Dale Oliff said safety will always be the highest priority.

"Unfortunately we work in a field where distressed or disturbed patients can, from time to time, react in a way that is out of character to them.

"Our responsibility is to make sure staff are as supported and prepared as they can be for such incidents while allowing them to do their job to the best of their ability, without impinging on the treatment of patients."

Attacks on staff on Boxing Day and January 15 highlighted areas where the DHB could improve, Oliff said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

They have now put in additional external security support in the emergency department, held a formal internal debrief with affected staff, held an independent formal incident review, attached ED furniture to the floor, reviewed incident escalation processes, added CCTV cameras in ED, and provided more de-escalation training.

Changes have also been made to the duress and emergency alarm sounds so a duress call is distinguishable from a medical emergency alarm.

Save
    Share this article

Latest from New Zealand

Premium
AnalysisKate MacNamara

How Govt sliced $200m off the cost of new Waikato medical school

New Zealand

'Much-loved young man': Community mourns teen driver after crash

Crime

Details of gruesome driveway death revealed as woman admits killing


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Recommended for you

The husband and wife team taking the reins at New World Waipukurau
Hawkes Bay Today

The husband and wife team taking the reins at New World Waipukurau

High Noon Express opening marks opening of Mt Ruapehu ski season
Whanganui Chronicle

High Noon Express opening marks opening of Mt Ruapehu ski season

Montague becomes first Kiwi woman to sign with UFC
UFC

Montague becomes first Kiwi woman to sign with UFC

‘Pulling my son’s integrity apart’: Mum reacts to coroner’s call for law change after charity boxing death
Christchurch

‘Pulling my son’s integrity apart’: Mum reacts to coroner’s call for law change after charity boxing death

'In the pantheon of rock gods': Music world mourns rock legend Ozzy Osbourne
Entertainment

'In the pantheon of rock gods': Music world mourns rock legend Ozzy Osbourne

Truck rollover in Hawke's Bay causes road delays
Hawkes Bay Today

Truck rollover in Hawke's Bay causes road delays



Latest from New Zealand

Premium
Premium
How Govt sliced $200m off the cost of new Waikato medical school
Kate MacNamara
AnalysisKate MacNamara

How Govt sliced $200m off the cost of new Waikato medical school

ANALYSIS: The medical school was originally mooted to cost $380m but will now cost $232m.

22 Jul 10:41 PM
'Much-loved young man': Community mourns teen driver after crash
New Zealand

'Much-loved young man': Community mourns teen driver after crash

22 Jul 10:40 PM
Details of gruesome driveway death revealed as woman admits killing
Crime

Details of gruesome driveway death revealed as woman admits killing

22 Jul 10:36 PM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
All Access. All in one subscription. From $2 per week
Subscribe now

All Access Weekly

From $2 per week
Pay just
$15.75
$2
per week ongoing
Subscribe now
BEST VALUE

All Access Annual

Pay just
$449
$49
per year ongoing
Subscribe now
Learn more
30
TOP
search by queryly Advanced Search