A nurse at Lismore Base Hospital was allegedly threatened by a patient with a pair of scissors on the weekend.

NSW Police are investigating the incident and no charges have been laid against the male patient. 

“We can confirm that police were called to Lismore Base Hospital at around 3pm on Sunday afternoon to investigate the incident and no one was injured,” a NSW police media statement said.

Police investigations are ongoing. 

Northern NSW Local Health District (NNSWLHD) chief executive Wayne Jones said “while patients may have underlying clinical conditions that can cause challenging and aggressive behaviours, ensuring a safe environment for staff is imperative if they are to carry out their roles effectively".

“Police attended following an incident that occurred at Lismore Base Hospital on Sunday September 15, and staff who were on duty at the time are being supported by the hospital,” Mr Jones said.

“The District has strict policies in place in regard to the protection of people and responding to aggressive behaviour by patients and individuals presenting to the hospital. 

“Violence and aggression is not tolerated within our health facilities. 

“The NSW Government appointed Honourable Peter Anderson to review security in NSW hospitals and his interim report was released in February this year. 

“The District has already started work locally to implement security improvements in response to the interim recommendations and will await the final report due later this year. 

“Across the State, around $19 million has been invested on security capital works in emergency departments (EDs) already and over $5 million has been invested to upgrade personal duress alarms for staff to make our EDs safer.”