A man accused of stabbing a nurse with an improvised blade was left unguarded at a hospital by police in the lead-up to the alleged attack, despite having been arrested earlier in the day over a separate serious assault. Police told The West Australian that Justin Trent Narrier was taken to Royal Perth Hospital by officers after they arrested him on Saturday. Police refused to say how they tracked Mr Narrier down but it is believed the 30-year-old told officers who found him that he was already on his way to hospital to be treated for a medical condition. A police spokeswoman said a warrant for his arrest over the initial assault had been issued on Thursday. “Due to the serious nature of his medical condition he was ‘unarrested’ and left in the care of hospital staff,” the spokeswoman said. “Arrangements were made for his apprehension upon discharge from hospital.” Despite his high-risk status, no hospital security was assigned to directly monitor Mr Narrier. Police allege he stabbed the 55-year-old nurse about 1.30am on Sunday after approaching her from behind. The woman suffered a deep wound to her neck and remained in hospital for treatment overnight. Mr Narrier was charged with aggravated assault of a public officer and possession of a controlled weapon in a manner likely to cause someone to be injured. He was also charged with aggravated unlawful assault causing bodily harm over the unrelated matter. At the time of both alleged incidents he was on bail after pleading not guilty to stealing a motor vehicle. Mr Narrier faced Perth Magistrate’s Court on Sunday and was remanded in custody at Hakea Prison until May 27. 7NEWS can reveal that a second attack on a nurse took place less than 24 hours after the alleged stabbing. Play Video A nurse at Midland Public Hospital was punched in the face at 9pm last night. The West Australian Video A nurse at Midland Public Hospital was punched in the face at 9pm last night. St John of God Midland Public Hospital staff told 7NEWS that a senior nurse was punched in the face by a man just after 9pm last night. The nurse received a black eye but was back at work today. The alleged attacks come as statistics reveal an incident of aggression was reported at a WA hospital at an average of once every hour last year. Health Minister Roger Cook said the circumstances of the incident and what led to it needed to be investigated. “Everyone is shaken, everyone is disturbed by the nature of this violence and the speed with which it came on,” Mr Cook said. “We are really going to have to look seriously at this and get to the bottom of it. “We have already put $2 million into extra security measures as part of our election commitment to try to protect our frontline workers and we will do more. We will do whatever is needed to make sure that we protect our staff.”<doc-sep>Police have charged a Gnowangerup man over a stabbing attack on a nurse at Royal Perth Hospital. It is alleged the 30-year-old man approached the nurse from behind and struck her with a makeshift weapon around 1.30am on Sunday. The 55-year-old female nurse suffered a deep wound to her neck but did not realise she had been stabbed until she saw blood coming from the wound. She was treated in hospital overnight and discharged the next day. The alleged attack sparked a call from one of the nurse’s family members for increased security for health workers who deal with high risk patients. The man has been charged with assaulting a public officer and possession of a controlled weapon. He is due to appear in court later this month.<doc-sep>Police have charged a male patient accused of stabbing a nurse with a makeshift weapon at Royal Perth Hospital on Sunday. A WA Police spokesman said the 55-year-old on-duty nurse was shanked in the neck with a stitch picking blade around 1.30am, while tending to a high risk patient. The nurse had to seek medical attention while on duty after being stabbed by a patient. Credit:Mario Borg It will be alleged a 30-year-old Gnowangerup man approached the nurse from behind and struck her with a makeshift weapon. "The woman received injuries consistent with a stab wound and remained in hospital for treatment," he said.<doc-sep>
A nurse who was "cowardly attacked from behind" and stabbed in the neck with a makeshift weapon while on duty in Perth is recovering at home, as the government vows to better protect frontline hospital staff. The 55-year-old was helping a patient in a multi-bed ward at Royal Perth Hospital in the early hours of yesterday when she was set upon. However it's not known how her alleged attacker obtained the blade. A nurse was treated after being stabbed in the neck at Royal Perth Hospital. (9news) Western Australia Health Minister Roger Cook said the accused man had been a patient at the hospital for about 12 hours and had been moved from the emergency department to the acute surgical ward where the assault happened. He said the attack was "almost out of the blue" and it was disturbing that such dangerous aggression could escalate from a "fairly benign" situation. "No attack on a member of our staff providing care for patients is acceptable. I won't stand for it," Mr Cook said. The WA health minister has promised better protections for frontline workers. (9news) "We're going to have to undertake a very deep and significant investigation into this to make sure we can better respond to these situations and protect our frontline nurses." The minister visited the hospital yesterday. "Everyone is shaken, everyone is disturbed by the nature of this violence and the speed with which it came on," he said. Police have charged a 30-year-old Gnowangerup man with aggravated assault on a public officer and possession of a controlled weapon in a manner likely to cause injury. He is due to appear in court later this month. A man has been charged following the alleged attack last night. (9news)