Dr Fergus McCabe, a GP from Perth, has been commended by Australia’s governor-general for his bravery in disarming an axe-wielding attacker at his clinic in 2023.
Dr McCabe had only recently bought into the practice when the incident occurred, and his consulting room was directly above another colleague’s.
He was attending to a patient when he heard a scream, which he described as “a very shrill, distressing scream”.
Dr McCabe immediately got up and left his room, and as he was going down the stairs, his young receptionist had jumped up to help.
He turned the receptionist away and saw a 12-year-old boy and his dad waiting at the bottom of the stairs to see him, and could see the “absolute terror” in the boy’s face.
The attacker, who was known to one of the GPs at the clinic, had entered one GP’s room by accident before locating his intended target, Anna.
The first GP saw him slam the door shut after attacking Anna, and had the bravery to come back in, run past the door, and swing it open.
With the door open, Dr McCabe had a chance to take the offensive and disarm the attacker by complete surprise, grabbing the axe and pushing him across the room.
He then stood between the offender, who lay on the floor against the wall, and Anna, who lay bleeding.
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Dr McCabe estimates that the entire incident, from the start of the attack to the police storming into the clinic, took only 10 minutes, though it felt like an “eternity”.
Dr McCabe believes that the incident highlights a broader issue of health workers being victims of violence, and that the root causes of such incidents need to be addressed.
He urged that instead of just stationing a security guard or locking offenders up for longer, the focus should be on addressing the root causes, such as children’s education, housing, addiction, and mental health, which are all linked to health issues in the community.
Dr McCabe’s experience has led him to speak out about the increasing risk to health workers when patients fall through the cracks.
His story serves as a reminder of the importance of addressing the root causes of violence and supporting health workers who are often on the front lines of dealing with complex social issues.
Dr McCabe said, “If you turn your cheek the other way, bad things happen.
But if you work together in a community, then good things happen.”
Dr McCabe’s bravery and selflessness have been recognized.
