From N&O

http://www.newsobserver.com/news/health_science/story/1115651.html

Another attack at Dix rekindles concerns A nurse is beaten by a patient, and hospital workers protest

Michael Biesecker, Staff Writer

RALEIGH - A nurse who was just days from retirement was beaten by a patient at Dorothea Dix Hospital last week, another in a spate of incidents raising concerns about the safety of patients and staff in state mental facilities.
On Friday, hospital workers again marched on the Raleigh office of Dempsey Benton, the secretary of the state Department of Health and Human Services.
They are seeking to delay the pending closure of Dix because of concerns about staffing shortfalls and design flaws with a new facility in Butner that is set to open next month.
About 500 Dix employees, the majority of the hospital's staff, signed a petition asking Benton to impose a one-year moratorium on the shutdown. They say that would allow North Carolina's next governor the opportunity to reconsider changes to the mental health system imposed by Gov. Mike Easley's administration.
A letter also was circulated among legislators this week asking that the state budget for the next year include money to keep Dix open. The letter was signed by representatives of the N.C. Sheriff Police Alliance, the Wake County chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, the N.C. Public Service Worker's Union and a psychologist who works at Dix.
Data compiled by the union from federally required employee injury reports from the state's four mental hospitals for 2007 show a total of
712 staff injuries, resulting in 4,380 lost workdays. The overwhelming majority of injuries were the result of contact with patients.
An incident report from Dix Hospital released this week said nurse Carol Latham, 63, was attacked by a female patient who knocked her to the floor and started hitting her in the face.
DHHS spokesman Tom Lawrence said the ward where the assault occurred, which houses 32 patients, was fully staffed with 11 workers. He characterized the incident as minor.
"She was hit in the neck and nose, doing no real damage," Lawrence said.
But Latham, reached at her home, told a different story.
"I'm so sore I can hardly move," said Latham, who has worked at Dix for eight years. "No assault is minor, ever. This is the first time I have ever been attacked."
Latham's glasses were broken and her nose bloodied, resulting in swelling and bruising to her face. X-rays showed no fractures.
Contrary to what administrators claimed, Latham says she was alone with nine female patients when a woman with a well-documented history of violence attacked her. The other staff members working that night were either looking after male patients in a neighboring hall or were elsewhere in the building.
The ward where Latham was attacked houses forensic patients -- those either facing criminal charges or who have been deemed mentally incompetent to stand trial.
"She just calmly walked towards me and starting beating on me," Latham said.
"It's a very unsafe unit, because of the type of patients they have."
Latham said she was offered a position at the new hospital in Butner, but she has instead chosen to retire from state employment and take another job in the private sector, she said.
Her last day of work will be July 30.
"I haven't felt safe for the last three or four years," she said.
"It's too stressful. I won't miss it."

michael.biesecker@newsobserver.com or (919) 829-4698