PETALING JAYA: The person who stabbed a middle-aged man at the Selayang hospital on Tuesday (Feb 14) is a psychiatric patient who was brought in by police, says Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.
“Before disinformation becomes viral, please be informed that the stabbing was done by a psychiatric patient brought in by the police,” the Health director-general told The Star on Wednesday (Feb 14).
He added that such incidents can happen anywhere and said that the Health Ministry will review its standard operating procedure (SOP) for patients with psychiatric disorders.
“We need to safeguard our patients in emergency departments and our clinics. We have to review our SOP for patients with psychiatric disorders,” said Dr Noor Hisham.
The Straits Times reported on Tuesday that an agitated psychiatric patient had allegedly stabbed a middle-aged man three times while waiting in a hospital.
The report said the psychiatric patient took a knife from the staff nurse pantry and stabbed a dengue patient once in the back and twice in the abdomen.
It also said that the victim had to go through a surgery as the knife ended up being wedged in the victim’s abdomen.
The report said the assailant was upset over being stranded in the emergency department of the hospital while waiting for a bed in the wards, which were full at that time.
Meanwhile, Health Minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa who rushed to the hospital after yesterday’s Parliament meeting said the stabbing at the Selayang Hospital is under investigation by the relevant authorities.
Dr Zaliha said she had rushed to the hospital after Parliament to find out what had happened and get an explanation.
“The current status of the patient will be reported to the family from time to time,” she said in a tweet.
Zaliha along with the Selangor Health director, the hospital’s director and the team of doctors treating the victim had met with the victim’s family to explain the efforts taken to ensure that he receives the best treatment.
