A patient was killed at Drammen sykehus in Norway after being stabbed with a knife on a locked psychiatric ward, and police say about 20 minutes passed between the incident and the moment they were notified. The man died from his injuries, according to police prosecutor Ann Iren Svane Mathiassen of the South-East Police District, who spoke to NRK. A second patient at the unit has been charged in the case.
The stabbing took place in a shared area of the closed ward, Mathiassen told NRK. The hospital has declined to say how the man obtained the knife. Large numbers of police were sent to the hospital following the serious violence, NRK reports.
Why it matters
The death raises questions about safety and staffing on wards that care for the most seriously ill patients, and about how quickly outside help is called when violence breaks out inside a closed unit. The case also puts attention on the routines that govern how patients are placed together and how risks are assessed.
On Saturday morning, Buskerud tingrett ruled that the accused man will be held in a form of custody that does not involve prison. Instead, he will be placed in an institution under compulsion for four weeks. During that period he is also subject to restrictions on letters and visits.
His defence lawyer, Andrea Wisløff, said she has spoken with her client. She told NRK that questioning him has not been appropriate so far, and that he has therefore not taken a position on whether he is guilty.
Both the man who died and the man charged were patients at the hospital's locked psychiatric department, according to the reporting.
Police say the sequence of events is relatively clear
In a press release issued on Saturday morning, police wrote that around 20 minutes elapsed between the incident and their being alerted. Mathiassen said investigators believe they have a fairly good picture of what happened. Work on the case will continue through the weekend, including further interviews with witnesses.
The 20-minute gap is likely to be one focus of the review, given that the violence occurred on a ward where patients are under close observation and where staff are present around the clock.
Tonje Borch, the patient and user ombudsman for Buskerud, said she does not know the details of Friday's events and therefore spoke in general terms. She stressed that patients' safety must be protected.
Borch noted that the incident happened on a closed ward housing the sickest patients, and that such settings are places where dangerous situations can arise. She said she assumes assessments were made about the risk of having the two patients on the same ward. In general, she sees pressure on staffing levels at Norwegian hospitals, but she does not consider Drammen sykehus to be an exception.
"This concerns very sick people on a closed ward, so it is generally safe to be a patient at Drammen sykehus," she told NRK.
Staff representatives focus on support
Marthe Wang Eriksen, the clinic union representative for the Norwegian Nurses Organisation at Vestre Viken's clinic for mental health and substance abuse, said the priority in the coming days is to look after members and other employees.
She described the death as a deeply tragic event affecting patients, relatives and staff. Asked whether employees are worried, she said different reactions and feelings are natural in response to something like this. The organisations in the clinic are in close contact, and information has been sent to members saying support is available through the weekend.
Wang Eriksen said that, based on the information she has received, the hospital is operating as normal. She expressed confidence that the hospital is handling the situation in line with its routines and guidelines, while acknowledging that a review is a natural step after an event of this kind. At this stage, she said, the priority is to provide support and build an overview.
The hospital has not commented on how the knife came to be in the ward, and police have not released further details about the circumstances of the stabbing.
Watch for the results of the police investigation and any review of procedures at the ward in the coming weeks.
