Up to five staff at Shellharbour Hospital's mental health unit have been assaulted by the same patient in the last three months - yet sources claim management refuses to protect them.
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The Mercury has received letters, emails and phone calls from several sources about the incidents, which are alleged to have occurred in the Eloura mental health inpatient units.
In one letter the 'concerned partner' of a staff member working in the unit said there had been a number of "serious assaults" in recent months, with staff - and their families - fearful of what will happen on each shift.
"Currently staff at Shellharbour Hospital's acute mental health are being expected to care for a patient who has physically assaulted five male staff, either nurses or security staff," the letter stated.
"One staff member received six punches to the face, another king hit to back of head. This patient has also attempted to physically assault a female staff member and repeatedly being sexually inappropriate with staff, predominantly females."
The letter went on to say that staff had raised their concerns with hospital and district management, yet they were not being addressed.
"People do not choose to become nurses or security guards so patients can assault them," the letter stated.
"The staff on this unit are extremely angry, frustrated and disillusioned with management yet they turn up to work each day to deliver fantastic care to seriously mentally ill people."
Another letter by a 'whistleblower', criticises the "third world safety standards" at the hospital's mental health unit.
The letter - sent to several media outlets as well as politicians and government departments - claims that hospital management's treatment of staff who report incidents is "disgusting" and "un-Australian".
"This terrible situation is an extreme breach of the NSW OH&S Act (which) clearly states 'all employees must be provided with a safe workplace'," it states.
Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District executive director of mental health Caroline Langston said due to privacy legislation, the district "cannot comment on individual patients or their care".
She said ISLHD was "fully informed of all staff and consumer safety incidents" and reported them to the relevant authorities including SafeWork NSW.
"ISLHD remains committed to ensuring the safest possible environment for consumers and staff and all safety incidents are reported through the district's safety management system to ensure they are dealt with appropriately," she said.
"The Mental Health High Care Area provides care to consumers who often have complex mental health conditions and behaviours that may pose safety risks.
"Every consumer has an individual care plan. For those consumers identified as high risk, a risk management plan is developed that is reviewed daily by the multidisciplinary team. Additional staff and security may also be allocated if required."
Ms Langston said a range of other safety measures were in place including violence prevention training, personal duress alarms for staff and mental health emergency response teams.
She said post-incident reviews and debriefing sessions were also undertaken with staff, who had access to employee assistance programs.
The assault claims come after a rally outside Wollongong Hospital in March, in support of a health and security assistant who was sacked after a violent confrontation with a patient at that hospital's mental health unit. Investigations continue into the incident in early December.
Meantime Shellharbour Hospital's mental health units have come under scrutiny in recent years.
Another patient Joseph Gumley was killed by his roommate Paul Hindmarsh at the Eloura West unit in 2014.
