The attack on a female security officer at Wanganui Hospital on Monday
morning was a tragedy waiting to happen.
That’s the view of two local funeral directors who feel unsafe visiting the
hospital at night.
Julie Kenny and James Forrest, from Dempsey and Forrest, told the Chronicle
they had been trying for several years to get hospital management to do
something about the security issue.
The security officer, a woman in her 30s, was found injured and unconscious
by hospital staff in the early hours. She suffered concussion and bruising
and was taken to the hospital’s emergency department.
Mr Forrest and Mrs Kenny said it was common for their staff to have to
visit the hospital at night to take a body to the mortuary.
The mortuary is a small building surrounded by trees and some distance from
the rest of the hospital.