Man of Honour
- Joined
- 29 Mar 2003
- Posts
- 57,671
- Location
- Stoke on Trent
Tell her to make sure it has been reported on DATIX so it doesn't come back and bite her on the bum.
Poll: Wife was attacked at work!
- Thread starter Dr House
- Start date
Well, he didn't so you have to weigh up the consequences against his actions. We can only go by the OP. We do not have any history regarding the assailant so we cannot judge if it was abberant behaviour on his part and as such the required response would indeed be to give him the opportunity of getting help rather than criminalising him.
If, however this is simply the latest of a history of violence then maybe the response would need to be more severe and charges should be leveled.
My answer was given on the former being the case.
At first I was like
Should be hung drawn and quartered!
but then I was like... we all make mistakes under pressure.
Best result from that would be not to press charges but ensure there is enough security on hand to deal with it quicker and ensure employee safety.
Heart goes out to people working in that environment, I suspect 90% of stuff that comes through the crash doors are injuries resulting from self inflicted situations
Should be hung drawn and quartered!
but then I was like... we all make mistakes under pressure.
Best result from that would be not to press charges but ensure there is enough security on hand to deal with it quicker and ensure employee safety.
Heart goes out to people working in that environment, I suspect 90% of stuff that comes through the crash doors are injuries resulting from self inflicted situations
Soldato
- Joined
- 31 May 2009
- Posts
- 21,468
Her hospital trust should be pressing charges 100% of the time against such individuals. Let him use his excuse in court and see if the judge lets him off with it. Only a matter of time before some psycho kills a nurse or doctor with a punch they didn't 'really' mean to throw.
Trusts should be taking a 100% zero tolerance policy to violence against their employees, she is there to provide medical treatment not to take abuse, physical or verbal.
I don't care who he lost a year ago, it doesn't give him any right to attack someone. She should press charges.
Let's face it he's not going to get much in court for this, it will probably just ruin his life a little more though. What if this sends him completely over the edge and he kills himself and affects other people in the process. See how easy 'What if's' are?
From a human point of view, I wouldn't press charges - your missus is fine and this guy probably feels even worse for doing what he did. Bear in mind that most of the people here replying don't have a spouse or children so it's hard them them to comprehend the situation.
Soldato
- Joined
- 31 May 2009
- Posts
- 21,468
Because a year is long enough to get over the death of your soul mate and child
I presume you aren't married Mr Know It All?
I presume by extension that you think when he is drunk he should be allowed to attack anyone he likes?
Go roll your eyes at someone else. He had no right to attack anyone, she should press charges, being drunk is no excuse, and losing relatives is no excuse either. Plenty of people lose others and don't attack medical staff as a result.
Because a year is long enough to get over the death of your soul mate and child
I presume you aren't married Mr Know It All?
You sound like an immature teenager who doesn't know anything about life.
Oh dear boy, I'm married, been thought death, as they say seen it, done and even starred in the movie. He needs to be stopped from doing this again. A charge might well ensure he gets some form of treatment. There is no being heartless in this situation. A family tragedy does not give him the right to assault someone a year on. The next time it could be manslaughter. He needs to open his eyes to his behaviour and not be let off the hook to carry on willy-nilly.
It might make him sort himself out, who knows?
We don't know how he feels. We do know what he did though. This wasn't just a lashing out, she was grabbed and pinned against a wall, certainly not someone who I'd like to be seen just being left to get on with things in the hope that it doesn't happen again.
Last edited:
Agree. Choosing to press charges would be a decision fueled by discompassion, spite and anger. As the OP's wife doesn't feel distraught enough to press charges, there's no reason to. She has shown compassion. The incident should be reported though.
And there a lot of people underestimating the traumatic effects family loss and tragidy can have on a person. Not ever soul is rock strong.
Whilst I am sorry to hear this there are a few things to remember. This will most likely happen - it is the nature of the job (speaking from personal experience) - is the action of the man correct - no - is it understandable - yes. As for should she press charges. NHS trusts say they have a zero tolerance to such things and for example the say things like they encourage whistleblowing. They actually will not support you at all in such things and will often ostracise you for such action behind the scenes. All I would say is she will have to learn to be close to an exit - never let the patient be between her and the door - go in with another member of staff - etc - minimise your exposure to such risk. Yer the job sucks sometimes but there will be worse lows than this down the line.
Oops I press the wrong button :/ I read your 'Would you do the same? ' and clicked on yes.
Whilst I do not agree with violence against NHS staff, in this case there were mitigating circumstances. I wouldn't have pressed charges either.
Whilst I do not agree with violence against NHS staff, in this case there were mitigating circumstances. I wouldn't have pressed charges either.
I probably wouldn't have pressed charges, if I knew the guys history. There's a lot to be said for being compassionate, and I don't think anyone who hasn't lost a child can fully comprehend the pain it causes, myself included.
Like someone else said, pressing charges could be the last straw for this guy, and any hope he had of ever leading a normal, relatively happy life again could be taken away from him. I agree that what he did wasn't right, but it's important to look behind the action to the reason.
I think if more people behaved like the OPs wife, instead of being so quick to judge and so reluctant to understand another person's pain, we'd all be a lot better off.
Like someone else said, pressing charges could be the last straw for this guy, and any hope he had of ever leading a normal, relatively happy life again could be taken away from him. I agree that what he did wasn't right, but it's important to look behind the action to the reason.
I think if more people behaved like the OPs wife, instead of being so quick to judge and so reluctant to understand another person's pain, we'd all be a lot better off.
