55% of psychiatrists have been attacked by patients
A study of the profession has found that despite promised safety improvements in the aftermath of a 2008 double stabbing at a mental health facility, doctors are continuing to be put at risk.
According to the study – conducted by Dr Annette Kavanagh of the HSE’s general adult psychiatry service in north Dublin and Dr Liam Watters, clinical director of St Senan’s Hospital in Co Wexford – 55% of medics working in the field have been physically attacked while at work.