Police have arrested a man in connection with an alleged one-punch attack in the foyer of Box Hill Hospital which left a Melbourne surgeon and father of two fighting for his life.
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In the latest of a series of recent attacks on the state's health workers, cardiac and thoracic surgeon Patrick Pritzwald-Stegmann suffered life-threatening injuries after allegedly being punched in the head on Tuesday night following a verbal altercation.
Mr Pritzwald-Stegmann is aged in his 40s and is the father of two young children.
It is believed he was on his way home at the end of his shift and became concerned about people smoking near the hospital doors when the assault occurred.
On Wednesday night, police arrested a 22-year-old Mill Park man who was assisting police with their inquiries, Victoria Police media officer Natalie Savino said.
The attack comes amid mounting concern about the prevalence of violence towards the state's health workers. An October 2016 Fairfax Media analysis of health services' annual reports showed there that almost every hour a health worker was bitten, spat at, punched abused or threatened while trying to care for patients in Victorian hospitals.
Detective Senior Sergeant Ian Shepherd said the surgeon was hit in the face and fell to the ground unconscious.
Mr Pritzwald-Stegmann was stabilised at Box Hill Hospital before being transferred to The Alfred where he underwent surgery on Tuesday night. He remained in a critical condition in intensive care on Wednesday.
"We've certainly seen plenty of incidents in the past where people die from these incidents," Senior Sergeant Shepherd said.
"That's as serious as you can get.
"[They family is] very shaken and really troubled by the incident ... and right at the moment they're caring for their family member."
Mr Pritzwald-Stegmann, whose practice is based out of neighbouring Epworth Eastern hospital at Box Hill, is described as a highly skilled surgeon with special interests in heart valve and aortic surgery.
He has worked in cardiothoracic centres in Europe and often works with lung cancer patients, according to Epworth Healthcare's website.
In 2002, he graduated from a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery at the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand.
"Patrick is able to deliver state-of-the-art surgery safely and effectively, while reducing surgical trauma," the Epworth website says.
Police hunt man with shopping bags
Police believe the attacker fled the scene immediately after the assault, about 7.20pm, but may have been at the hospital for some time beforehand, with a group of people.
The alleged attacker is pictured in CCTV footage with a blonde woman and another man, carrying three grocery bags into the hospital lifts.
In the footage taken before the attack, the man is seen entering the lift and then getting out on another level.
"We believe that he may well have been visiting a patient, and we're certainly keen to find out who that patient is," Senior Sergeant Shepherd said.
Violence a 'regular occurrence' against medical staff
Michael Grigg, the former director of surgery at Eastern Health, said violence against medical staff was a regular occurrence.
"For some reason we seem to think the punch is almost acceptable. It's not acceptable," he said.
Fairfax Media recently reported a push for more funding to protect healthcare workers from a growing number of dangerous patients, amid reports of staff being held hostage and bashed on the job.
Following the 2014 attack on neurosurgeon Michael Wong, who was stabbed up to 30 times in the foyer of Footscray Hospital, there have been repeated calls for more security at hospitals.
The Royal Australasian College of Surgeons said violence against medical staff was unacceptable.
"An alleged assault by single punch to a Box Hill surgeon whose life is now critically threatened by resultant brain injury is obscene," Dr John Crozier said.
Acting Health Minister Martin Foley said he hoped the perpetrator of the "completely villainous and heinous act" was brought to justice quickly.
He said the government needed to review its investment in hospital safety procedures.
Mr Foley said the government had invested more than $20 million in the recent budget to make hospitals safer. He said all major hospitals had comprehensive internal security, but he understood the incident occurred at the front of the hospital, "raising a whole new series of concerns".
Anyone with information can contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
Violence in Victorian hospitals
- An October 2016 Fairfax Media analysis of health services' annual reports showed there were 8627 reports of occupational violence in Victoria's public hospitals in the year to July, and of those 1166 resulted in staff injury or illness.
- April 2017: A nurse at the Royal Melbourne Hospital was allegedly held hostage at knife point and by a 60-year-old male patient.
- October 2016: A patient angry about waiting for care drove their four-wheel-drive through the glass doors of the emergency department at Sunshine Hospital. In a separate incident at the same hospital, a patient slit their wrists, sprayed blood on staff and punched a nurse in the face repeatedly.
- April 2016: A patient cornered two staff in a trauma ward at Royal Melbourne Hospital and punched a nurse in the face.
- February 2014: Neurosurgeon Michael Wong was stabbed up to 30 times in the foyer of Footscray Hospital as he arrived for work.
