Hospital staff were commended for their bravery after tackling a man who was trying to kill his estranged wife while they worked in intensive care.
Royston Jones charged into the intensive care unit at Nevill Hall Hospital in Abergavenny earlier this year claiming he had a hand grenade.
He strangled estranged wife Claire, who was on duty as a staff nurse, until she was unconscious. But her colleagues heroically pulled him away, saving her life and protecting the critically-ill patients on the ward.
Jones, 38, from Brynmawr, was later jailed for 15 years.
The 12 hospital staff have now been praised for their bravery with a Good Citizen Award from Gwent Police.
'It was horrendous'
They included consultant anaesthetist Dr Edward Curtis, 41, who wrestled Jones to pull him off.
Dr Curtis said: “It was horrendous. It seemed to go on forever and was very tiring. One of the things I took from it was that after the incident nobody was fit to work.
“But the whole team showed great support. All the night staff came in earlier, the domestic staff were making us cups of tea. The support from everybody was fabulous.
“I’m very chuffed to get an award, it’s very nice, but the outcome is even more important. The response from the Trust has been positive and security in the hospital has been upped since the event.
“I was on my way home when it all happened. If it had happened a minute or two later, who knows what might have happened.
“The nurses on duty that day were excellent. I don’t really know what everyone did, it’s all a blur, but they were a great bunch and we all supported each other.”
'Instinct kicked in'
Sheila Palmer, the on-duty team leader, and staff nurse Pauline Franchi, said many of those involved could not sleep and experienced flashbacks for a long time after the incident.
Ms Franchi said: “None of us gave our safety a second thought. Instinct kicked in and we did what we had to do. We are just so relieved we managed to save her. Her parents still have a daughter and her children still have a mother. That’s the most important thing.”
Ms Palmer added: “I don’t look at the CCTV photos, I just can’t. I think we are all more wary now of things that might happen. We have always been a good team and we are an even stronger team after this.
“Everyone - the porters, the cleaners - they all helped out in different ways.”
Related:Bare-chested would-be killer Royston Jones is given permission by a judge to call his children
'Any other visitor would have done the same'
Gwent Police and the Aneurin Bevan University Health Board presented the awards on Wednesday. They also presented an award to 57-year-old Fred Roberts, from Newport, who helped put out a fire which had started on a hospital bed at the Royal Gwent Hospital.
Mr Roberts, who had been visiting his late wife in hospital, saw a bed on fire with flames reaching the ceiling.
He said: “A man was standing in the corner, like a zombie. A male nurse was trying to get the fire extinguisher to work so I grabbed it off him, put the fire out and got the man out.
“I then helped the nurses push the people out on the beds.
“I don’t feel I should be here picking up this award today. If it had happened during normal visiting times and not at 11pm, any other visitor would have done the same thing. But I’m here for my wife.”
Presenting the awards, Police and Crime Commissioner for Gwent, Ian Johnston, said: “These people say ‘it’s what you do’. It may be what you do, but it’s not what everyone would do. You should take a personal satisfaction of what you achieve out there. You deserve to be remembered for it.”
