Bob Fenwick was yesterday named as one of the victims of Wednesday’s attack, in which two nurses were allegedly stabbed by a voluntary long-term patient considered to be low risk.

A colleague said Mr Fenwick, a registered nurse, was the acting nurse unit manager at the time of the attack around 3.55pm on Wednesday.

Shocked colleagues described Mr Fenwick, who was married and lived in Orange, as a respected nurse and “great bloke”.

“He was a nice guy, a really nice guy,” said Wayne Ozols, a Bloomfield nurse and the vice-president of the NSW Nurses’ Association mid-western mental health branch.

“He was a great role model.

“He’s going to be missed by a lot of junior staff.

“At the moment, we’re all stunned and shocked.”

Linda Griffiths, the nurses’ association’s western region organiser, was on site yesterday as staff were offered counselling by the Western NSW Local Health Network.

Ms Griffiths said Mr Fenwick was a popular staff member, who regularly offered his support to younger colleagues.

“He was a very long-term staff member, he was a great bloke and a great advocate for junior staff,” she said.

“It’s an absolute tragedy.”

Ms Griffiths said staff were very distressed after they were given the news yesterday morning, but were offering each other support.

“The nurses are absolutely devastated,” she said.

“It’s like a family out there.”

The Western NSW Local Health Network will conduct a full review of the incident.

Ms Griffiths said the union would assist the health service and police with their inquiries, but would not say whether security on the Bloomfield grounds had previously been a concern.

“I’m not prepared to speculate at this stage,” she said.

“Today is about supporting the staff.

“Everything will be discussed at a later date.”

The Western NSW Local Health Network offered its condolences to Mr Fenwick’s family.

“This is a terrible tragedy for his family and all his colleagues at Bloomfield Hospital,” a NSW Health spokesperson said.

“Everyone involved has been offered care and support and every effort will be made to ensure the families, patients and staff are assisted as needed.”

The spokesperson said no further comment would be made on the incident while it was under police investigation.

lisa.cox@ruralpress.com