Breath of trouble: Drunk Thai asthmatic attacks hospital staff
A drunk Thai man with asthma attacked three medical workers at a hospital in the Isaan province of Udon Thani, claiming he was simply afraid of dying from medical devices.
Pictures and videos showing a Thai patient attacking medical workers at Nong Han Hospital in Udon Thani circulated on Thai social media yesterday, March 17. Three medical workers were injured in the incident, and the attacker was later identified as 60 year old Thonglee.
According to the story shared on social media, Thonglee arrived at the hospital at around midnight yesterday, with severe asthma symptoms. He was also drunk upon arrival. Thonglee was rushed to the intensive care unit (ICU) for urgent treatment.
Three medical workers fitted him with a ventilator, nasogastric tube (NG tube), urinary catheter, and saline line. Unfortunately, the patient removed all of the medical equipment and attempted to climb out of the hospital bed.
Nurses rushed to calm Thonglee and tried to persuade him to remain in bed so he could be treated effectively. However, he ignored their pleas and launched an attack, kicking and punching the nurses in the face and chest.
Thonglee later gave his side of the story in an interview with Channel 7. He explained that he contacted a rescue team to take him to Nong Han Hospital because he ran out of asthma medication. The rescuers believed he was in a serious condition and took him to the ICU.
Thonglee claimed that he tried to stop them and explained that he only needed medication but no one listened. The medical team continued to attach multiple devices to his body, which made him feel scared and fearful of dying.
Thonglee said that a neighbour had died at the hospital just days earlier after having a device fitted, and he feared he would suffer the same fate. Overcome by fear, he reacted violently and expressed his apologies to all of the injured nurses.
One of the injured nurses, 26 year old Ning, told the media that her condition and that of the other two victims improved but they still bore bruises from the assault. She had not yet reported the incident to the police and said she would allow the hospital to handle the legal matters.
This attack follows similar incidents of violence against medical workers reported in February and early March. In February, a Thai man slapped a nurse twice in the face at a hospital in the eastern province of Rayong, allegedly because she spoke disrespectfully to his wife.
Earlier this month, a Thai monk with a mental illness and epilepsy attacked an assistant nurse at a hospital in the central province of Lop Buri.
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