The nurse was attempting to take blood from the elderly patient, who reacted defensively, resulting in the nurse receiving a puncture wound from her own needle.

The incident was the second attack in the space of a week at the hospital, after a 36 year-old Deviot man attacked a police officer and two hospital staff members with scissors on April 8, causing minor injuries.

Assaults on hospital staff have been occurring more frequently - a nurse was attacked in the Royal Hobart Hospital ED earlier this year, while in a more serious incident a senior doctor nearly died at the North-West Regional Hospital in April last year, after being attacked by a knife-wielding youth.

In May 2023, the Department engaged security experts to undertake an independent review of safety and security in public hospital Emergency Departments.

Both incidents in the past week occurred during a shortage of rostered support officers in the Emergency Department at the hospital, according to the secretary of the Health and Community Services Union Robbie Moore.

"It was a totally avoidable incident because we were short of the staff that are meant to be there to assist the nurses and doctors - the support service officers," Mr Moore said.

He said these support officers ideally work with higher-risk patients, including dementia patients, to ensure safety.

"On the day this occurred, we only had one support service employee at the LGH when there's meant to be three rostered on," Mr Moore said.

"And when the incident of the stabbing with the scissors occurred last week, we only had two on."

Mr Moore has been pressing for enhanced security for Tasmanian hospital staff since at least last year's stabbing at the NWRH.

Hospital workers threatened industrial action following the incident, prompting the instigation of a review into safety measures at state hospitals by former senior police officer Geoff Smith.

He also said the additional security and support staff promised after the incident at the NWRH had not materialised.

"These are the staff you would call on in those situations where you have more people that need more support to keep staff safe, and they haven't put those staff on."

"Staff safety is absolutely being put at risk, and to see two serious incidents at the LGH in a week is terrible, but it's not unexpected when you don't have the safety measures that were recommended in place."

A Department of Health spokesperson said the safety and security of patients and staff in our hospitals was always a high priority.

"We are continuing to take action to ensure our hospitals are safe and secure environments. Any incident involving aggression or violence in our hospitals is unacceptable," the spokesperson said.

"Recommendations from the independent review, including those relating to security arrangements at our hospitals, are being actioned. An action plan has been developed based on the report's recommendations and been made available to all staff, with ongoing engagement with staff and unions about implementation."

The department says changes to date have included:

An increase in the number of security officers in Emergency Departments across our major public hospitals.

Increased training for security officers, who have a role in responding to violent and aggressive situations that can arise.

Implementation of additional ED support staff specifically trained in dealing with violence and aggression.

A trial of the Victorian 'Code Grey' approach at the North West Regional Hospital (NWRH).

Commissioning a review, through UTAS, of the Occupational Violence and Aggression Training and ensuring it is keeping up with trends and societal changes.

Changes to CCTV at the NWRH.

Training of our staff is a priority as all staff in our hospitals have a role in assisting with de-escalation.

The Department said it recognises that its health professionals do an outstanding job of delivering high-quality health services to the Tasmanian community.