Slaps and vulgarities: Healthcare staff recall physical, verbal abuse

When senior staff nurse Devi Raman tried to stop a patient from breaking Covid-19 rules by leaving a Tan Tock Seng Hospital ward, she was verbally abused and hit on the wrist - all over a glass of iced water.

- Lee Li Ying

The patient had been irritated that nurses were taking some time to get him the drink. "My colleagues needed to go and get ice cubes. I tried explaining to him that the water was on the way, but he started shouting," said Mrs Raman, 33.

The patient then decided to go to a nearby convenience store to buy a drink, but patients were not allowed to leave the ward then.

When Mrs Raman touched his arm to stop him walking away and to steady him, as he was limping, the patient turned physically abusive. "My colleagues surrounded him, but he continued to shout vulgarities at me and asked who I was to stop him from leaving," she said.

Security stepped in, and doctors issued a stern warning to the patient.

"Because I have a frozen shoulder, I couldn't move my whole arm after he hit me. I had to take painkillers," said Mrs Raman, referring to a condition which results in stiffness in the shoulder joint.

The incident in January 2023 was not the only time Mrs Raman experienced abuse in her 11 years at the hospital, but it was the first time she lodged a police report.