Nurses at a Tayside psychiatric hospital did not fail in their duty of care to a patient, a watchdog has ruled.
The Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO) said staff at Murray Royal Hospital acted appropriately after a woman was twice assaulted by another patient.
In the first occasion the woman sustained a “minor” injury, while the second assault resulted in a “severe” injury to her eye.
The woman’s husband, who was identified only as Mr C, complained that he had been told by staff that his wife would be protected from the patient following the first attack but that she was then assaulted a second time.
He said that the board staff had not taken appropriate action to prevent the second assault.
NHS Tayside said there was no indication that the patient was of any further risk to Mrs C following the first assault.
In their written judgment the SPSO stated: “The board maintained that the risk of the patient assaulting Mrs C on the second occasion was assessed as rare.
“We obtained independent advice from two of our nursing advisers. They considered that there was no indication that the patient would assault Mrs C on the second occasion.
“We found that the board had taken appropriate action following both assaults, which would have greatly reduced the likelihood of a further assault.”