Police have released a CCTV image of a man it would like to identify after a midwifery student was indecently assaulted outside Auckland's Middlemore Hospital earlier this month.
"We believe he may be able to assist us with our investigation into an indecent assault outside Middlemore Hospital on August 14," police said.
The image shows a man wearing a dark jacket with the hood pulled up, khaki shorts and dark sneakers. He also has a distinctive tattoo on his right leg police have highlighted by zooming in.
Police are wanting anyone who may be able to identify the man, or with other information on the assault, to get in touch.
Shortly after the incident, a Te Whatu Ora spokesperson said the student wasn't injured in the assault and was "doing as well as possible in the circumstances".
"We're obviously upset and dismayed that this has happened to one of our staff — no one should have to experience this type of incident going to or from work."
An email sent to staff and obtained by Breakfast advised them to park in well-lit areas, walk in groups to and from their vehicles, and to call security if they unsafe in order to be escorted to the building.
The health authority's chief people and communications officer Andrew Slater said its team of security guards work "constantly" to make staff feel safe.
He said that verbal and physical assaults are fairly commonplace across Te Whatu Ora's network, with 15 reports of physical assault and 14 reports of verbal assault on average per day. This often happens inside hospitals and clinics.
"We'd really like to remind people that our people are people," he said.
Slater said he hopes that lifting the security presence, installing more cameras and de-escalation training will help staff in the future.
Caroline Conroy from The Midwifery Employee Representation and Advisory Service (MERAS) earlier told Breakfast she was "really concerned" following the alleged assault.
"This shouldn't happen to anybody on their way to or from the car park. It's terrible to hear that this has happened."
She said that nurses and midwives report "occasional" incidents across the country and wants people to feel safe at work.
She also said the concerns regarding the access to Middlemore's car parks after hours have been "raised" in the past.
A worker at the hospital said security once at 3am only walked her halfway to the car park. (Source: Breakfast)
"It's really concerning to hear that. People should be able to walk to car parks in their workplace safely," she said.
Conroy said that not everyone can walk in groups or get a security guard to escort them after shifts, especially late at night.
"I think it's one thing to say walk in a group or get a security guard to escort you, but the reality is quite different.
"You're leaving a shift quite late. You're on your own there does need to be an improvement to safety for everybody using that area," she said.
"It needs to be safe."
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