Byrner
01-19-2008, 12:43 AM
<div class="forum-comment-right">
By Barry Duggan and Eilish O'Regan
Friday January 18 2008
A DOCTOR was last night fighting for his life and another was seriously injured after they were repeatedly stabbed by a crazed patient in a psychiatric hospital.
The attack took place yesterday in front of frightened patients at St Anne's Psychiatric Day Hospital in Limerick.
It comes just one month after leading psychiatrists warned the HSE of "possibly fatal" risks, following the closure of secure beds in St Brendan's Psychiatric Hospital in Dublin.
The Irish Independent has learned that both medics were allegedly stabbed yesterday by patient Anthony McMahon (32).
McMahon was sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2004 for the manslaughter of homeless Anthony O'Shea in Limerick, in 2001. The sentence was later reduced to seven years after an appeal.
When arrested yesterday, McMahon was covered in his victims' blood.
Dr Ananth Pullela from India, who works as a consultant forensic psychiatrist, was last night fighting for his life in Cork University Hospital (CUH) after he suffered five stab wounds to the chest and upper body.
Psychologist Dr Kathleen Burns is being treated in the Mid-Western Regional Hospital where her condition is described as stable. She suffered multiple stab wounds.
In a letter seen by the Irish Independent, four leading psychiatrists wrote to the HSE last month to say there were "deeply alarmed" at the closure of St Brendan's Hospital.
They said it was an extraordinary decision that defies logic and would put the lives of patients, staff, their families,
healthcare staff and the public at "immediate and serious risk".
The doctors pointed out there was an overwhelming need for more secure beds and, without the facilities patients would be denied treatment and there could be "possibly fatal" risks to staff.
They added: "Our primary concern is for patients with mental illness who are disturbed and require secure settings for effective treatment."
Yesterday's brutal double attack took place at 2.30pm, at the Roxboro Road hospital. Mr McMahon had just left the building after meeting with Dr Pullela by appointment.
It emerged last night that Mr McMahon was referred to Dr Pullela for a second opinion by staff at Willowdale Care Centre in Raheen, Limerick. Sources indicate he was not fully taking his medication and was refusing medic's requests to do so.
After leaving the hospital, it is understood he returned, armed with a knife, and walked through reception and into an adjoining corridor where he came face to face with Dr Puellela. He overpowered the consultant and savagely stabbed him five times, leaving him bleeding profusely on the floor.
He then returned to the reception area and encountered the female medic. She was stabbed several times before he sat down in a nearby seat.
The attacker dropped the knife to the floor before gardai, who were stationed nearby, rushed in and overpowered him.
Both doctors were rushed to the Mid-Western Regional Hospital by ambulance, but medical personnel treating Dr Pullela became seriously concerned at his condition just after 7pm, and he was transferred to the CUH, where he is in a critical condition.
The Health Service Executive (HSE) is conducting an investigation into the assault. The incident has also been notified to the mental health inspectorate.
Mr McMahon, who is originally from Raheen Square, Ballinacurra Weston, was last night being held in Roxboro Road garda station.
Dr Pullela, who previously worked in New Zealand and Australia, first met with McMahon while he was in Limerick prison. He was released from jail in late 2006 and was referred to Willowdale Day Hospital in Raheen, where he attended initially before his release. He has been living in a flat in the city centre since.
Stabbed
On September 29, 2001, Mr McMahon stabbed Anthony O'Shea to death on Denmark Street, Limerick.
During the three-day trial at the Central Criminal Court, the jury heard that McMahon, who suffered from paranoid schizophrenia, had been discharged from the acute psychiatric unit of the Mid-Western Regional Hospital, just nine days before the incident. The case sparked calls by members of the Mid-Western Health Board for an inquiry into the practice used when discharging mental health patients.
Source: (http://www.independent.ie/national-news/medic-critical-after-patient-knife-frenzy-1268437.html)
By Barry Duggan and Eilish O'Regan
Friday January 18 2008
A DOCTOR was last night fighting for his life and another was seriously injured after they were repeatedly stabbed by a crazed patient in a psychiatric hospital.
The attack took place yesterday in front of frightened patients at St Anne's Psychiatric Day Hospital in Limerick.
It comes just one month after leading psychiatrists warned the HSE of "possibly fatal" risks, following the closure of secure beds in St Brendan's Psychiatric Hospital in Dublin.
The Irish Independent has learned that both medics were allegedly stabbed yesterday by patient Anthony McMahon (32).
McMahon was sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2004 for the manslaughter of homeless Anthony O'Shea in Limerick, in 2001. The sentence was later reduced to seven years after an appeal.
When arrested yesterday, McMahon was covered in his victims' blood.
Dr Ananth Pullela from India, who works as a consultant forensic psychiatrist, was last night fighting for his life in Cork University Hospital (CUH) after he suffered five stab wounds to the chest and upper body.
Psychologist Dr Kathleen Burns is being treated in the Mid-Western Regional Hospital where her condition is described as stable. She suffered multiple stab wounds.
In a letter seen by the Irish Independent, four leading psychiatrists wrote to the HSE last month to say there were "deeply alarmed" at the closure of St Brendan's Hospital.
They said it was an extraordinary decision that defies logic and would put the lives of patients, staff, their families,
healthcare staff and the public at "immediate and serious risk".
The doctors pointed out there was an overwhelming need for more secure beds and, without the facilities patients would be denied treatment and there could be "possibly fatal" risks to staff.
They added: "Our primary concern is for patients with mental illness who are disturbed and require secure settings for effective treatment."
Yesterday's brutal double attack took place at 2.30pm, at the Roxboro Road hospital. Mr McMahon had just left the building after meeting with Dr Pullela by appointment.
It emerged last night that Mr McMahon was referred to Dr Pullela for a second opinion by staff at Willowdale Care Centre in Raheen, Limerick. Sources indicate he was not fully taking his medication and was refusing medic's requests to do so.
After leaving the hospital, it is understood he returned, armed with a knife, and walked through reception and into an adjoining corridor where he came face to face with Dr Puellela. He overpowered the consultant and savagely stabbed him five times, leaving him bleeding profusely on the floor.
He then returned to the reception area and encountered the female medic. She was stabbed several times before he sat down in a nearby seat.
The attacker dropped the knife to the floor before gardai, who were stationed nearby, rushed in and overpowered him.
Both doctors were rushed to the Mid-Western Regional Hospital by ambulance, but medical personnel treating Dr Pullela became seriously concerned at his condition just after 7pm, and he was transferred to the CUH, where he is in a critical condition.
The Health Service Executive (HSE) is conducting an investigation into the assault. The incident has also been notified to the mental health inspectorate.
Mr McMahon, who is originally from Raheen Square, Ballinacurra Weston, was last night being held in Roxboro Road garda station.
Dr Pullela, who previously worked in New Zealand and Australia, first met with McMahon while he was in Limerick prison. He was released from jail in late 2006 and was referred to Willowdale Day Hospital in Raheen, where he attended initially before his release. He has been living in a flat in the city centre since.
Stabbed
On September 29, 2001, Mr McMahon stabbed Anthony O'Shea to death on Denmark Street, Limerick.
During the three-day trial at the Central Criminal Court, the jury heard that McMahon, who suffered from paranoid schizophrenia, had been discharged from the acute psychiatric unit of the Mid-Western Regional Hospital, just nine days before the incident. The case sparked calls by members of the Mid-Western Health Board for an inquiry into the practice used when discharging mental health patients.
Source: (http://www.independent.ie/national-news/medic-critical-after-patient-knife-frenzy-1268437.html)