An employee at the hospital, who the Herald has agreed not to name, said a man entered the ED about 11pm on Saturday.

He allegedly approached the receptionist and asked where his “wife” was being treated. When told, the man entered a cubicle, pulled a machete out from his hoodie and struck another man who was accompanying the female patient in the head.

“There was a lot of blood - as with all head wounds - [on the] walls, floor [and] hallway,” the employee said.

The female patient and a junior doctor allegedly disarmed the man after the attack. The assailant then stood with his hands behind his back and surrendered to police when they arrived.