A doctor who was stabbed 14 times by a mental health patient has demanded better security in hospitals after a respected surgeon was fatally hit by an irate smoker.
On Wednesday, a jury found Joseph Esmaili guilty of killing cardiothoracic surgeon Patrick Pritzwald-Stegmann outside Box Hill Hospital in Melbourne in May 2017.
Dr Pritzwald-Stegmann suffered head injuries after he was struck by Esmaili and neurosurgeon Dr Michael Wong is now calling for improved safety, 9News reported.
Neurosurgeon Dr Michael Wong (pictured) has demanded better security in hospitals after respected surgeon Patrick Pritzwald-Stegmann was fatally hit by an irate smoker
Dr Wong (pictured on the ground), who was stabbed 14 times by a mental health patient in a frenzied attack in 2014, said the terrifying ordeal has changed his perception of hospital safety
Dr Wong, who was stabbed 14 times by a mental health patient in a frenzied attack in 2014, said the terrifying ordeal has changed his perception of hospital safety.
The neurosurgeon said he was viciously stabbed in his chest, abdomen, arms, legs, head and hands, and after months of recovery, he fears he may never operate again.
While Dr Wong welcomed Esmaili’s guilty verdict, he insisted hospitals need to take better care when it comes to preventing another tragedy from happening again.
Dr Pritzwald-Stegmann, 41, was knocked to the ground by Esmaili after he asked the 24-year-old and his friends to not smoke in the non-smoking section of the hospital.
Shocking CCTV footage shows the terrifying moment when the surgeon fell backwards and hit his head on the ground so forcefully it cracked the tiles.
Dr Wong said he always feared an attack would happen again to someone else, only they wouldn’t be as lucky as he was – and he now admits that fear has come true.
The neurosurgeon said he was viciously stabbed in his chest, abdomen, arms, legs, head and hands (pictured in 2014), and after months of recovery, he fears he may never operate again
Patrick Pritzwald-Stegmann (right) suffered head injuries after he was struck by Esmaili and neurosurgeon Dr Michael Wong (left) is now calling for improved safety
‘This surgeon was about the same age as me, he had a young family with two children and just like me was attacked in the foyer of the hospital,’ Dr Wong said.
‘It’s so sad and unnecessary; why aren’t we doing something about this?’
Dr Wong asked how many more doctors and nurses need to be hurt, traumatised or killed before politicians wake up to the harsh reality of violence in hospital.
The neurosurgeon said violent outbursts have become a ‘daily occurrence’ in public hospitals, but like his own attack, Dr Pritzwald-Stegmann was attacked in a foyer.
He said foyers are typically unsupervised and could benfit from having security guards like emergency rooms, which could ‘have a deterrent effect’.
‘We shouldn’t be working in warzones. We are not soldiers and shouldn’t be put in situations like this,’ he said.