Knife gangs are breaking into hospital wards to finish off their stab victims

Knife gangs are breaking into hospital wards to finish off their stab victims
Knife gangs are breaking into hospital wards to finish off their stab victims

Working in a London hospital, you get used to dealing with the after-effects of gang fights. But you don’t expect to see them. 

Of the many horrible things you might witness as a junior doctor in the capital, among the worst must be watching a teenage gang trying to break into the ward you work on, hoping to finish off a victim, punching your colleagues out of the way to get to him.

Where I work, there’s a ‘code red’ every day. That’s what we call the arrival of a stabbing victim. The patient is almost always a teenager. We should provide a safe refuge. But just a few weeks into working in a London hospital, I had witnessed two stabbings.

A few weeks ago, a boy came in with knife wounds and was taken to have a CT scan to assess the damage. But his attackers were not satisfied with wounding him – they wanted him dead. After turning up at the hospital, the whole gang rushed to the CT scanners. 

The nurse and radiographer tried to stand in their way – my colleagues tend to be extremely brave – but they were attacked and knocked to the ground. At this point, security arrived: the gang fled, successfully escaping.

Working in a London hospital, you get used to dealing with the after-effects of gang fights. But you don’t expect to see them 

If you’ve been to a hospital recently, you’ll know that you can pretty much walk in and around as you like. There are far, far too many people to check. There are numerous restricted and locked areas, and we have permanent security guards posted on the highest risk areas for gang violence – but most entrances are completely open at all hours. You can’t get into other wards without buzzing and being let in, but anyone can get into A&E.

The injured boy came in on a Saturday morning, when the hospital was quite empty. Later that day, someone walking around on the first floor suddenly heard loud shouting and yelling. One of my friends was working in a ward adjacent to A&E, and saw a man run up and start banging on the door, closely followed by a group of young men.

The gang had returned, found a target, and were chasing him down the corridor, knives out. All the wards were locked, and the man was trying his best to get away, hammering on all the doors – but no one was opening up. None of the staff wanted men with knives running around their wards – and, frankly, probably didn’t want to be in harm’s way themselves. We’re not paid danger money. My friend felt guilty for not opening the door, but what was she supposed to do: put herself and all the patients in her ward at risk?

Usually when there is a gang-related incident, there are stabbings on both sides. Hospitals go to great lengths to ensure members of rival gangs are taken to separate trauma centres. But sometimes a mistake is made – or both victims are too unwell to reach another hospital – and they end up in the same place. Either way, if gangs are determined to take their feuds into hospitals, there is not much we can do.

Gangs come up with all sorts of ways to try and access victims who have survived. Sometimes, they pretend to be family members. The hospital has started to set code words that genuine relatives can use to identify themselves when they come and visit. But on one occasion, a hostile gang created fake ID badges. They managed to get hold of their target’s location and just called on the intercom. They were buzzed in, and at least a couple got onto the ward. Occasionally, gang members who’ve been stabbed are personally guarded by the police during their admissions. I know of at least one who was discharged straight into witness protection.

There was blood all over the floors of the corridor when the gang left that Saturday. Their victim, the man who’d been banging on doors, was rushed to the Intensive Care Unit. He was at – in terms of treatment quality – one of the best hospitals he could hope for. The major trauma team often includes ex-military doctors. There will be up to five different surgeons working to save one victim simultaneously. This, of course, places a great strain on the health service, but the upside is that London surgeons have become experts – the best in the world – at treating stab wounds. People survive horrendous attacks that would have proved fatal a few years ago.

Some are not meant to kill, though; gangs sometimes go in for ‘bagging’, which is when they stab the victim in the rectum, so that they need a colostomy bag for the rest of their life. This is meant to be the most humiliating punishment.

At another

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