A woman, who took her son to the Spanish Town Hospital in St. Catherine early Friday morning to be treated for asthma, ended up in the emergency room herself after being attacked by a man said to be of unsound mind.

The drama unfolded after the alleged mentally ill man, who visited the hospital to have a swollen hand treated, left the waiting area and returned with a large piece of concrete and attacked another woman, hitting her on the head.

The incident took place in the presence of a Gleaner reporter.

The two stumbled inside the treatment area for patients with asthma, trading blows in full view of patients who were being nebulised.

Security personnel at the hospital, who are strategically placed at an entry point nearby, could not be found during the melee.

Rushed to emergency room

The man, who went berserk, then turned on Nadine - the woman whose son was being treated for asthma - kicking her in the abdomen. She had to be rushed to the emergency room for treatment after complaining of stomach pains and vomiting.

Pandemonium broke out in the treatment area with patients fleeing into the emergency room. The spouse of the injured woman and another man subdued the mentally ill man.

Many angry patients voiced their dissatisfaction with the security provided by the hospital.

"The security guard dem harass decent people and mad man come inside wid stone an dem nuh si," one patient complained

But what triggered greater outrage was the decision by the hospital to charge the injured woman $4,500 to do an ultrasound.

Nadine and her spouse said they would not pay this fee, arguing that the security personnel failed to act to protect her on the hospital premises.

David Dobson, chief executive officer of the hospital, told The Gleaner yesterday that he had received a written complaint from the victim. He, however, noted that the victim, in her complaint, reported that the security was on the premises when the incident occurred.

He noted, however, that he would not comment further on the issue as the matter was being investigated.