The police insisted on Tuesday that officers who on Saturday escorted a man to hospital, where he turned aggressive, had been following procedure.

Times of Malta, quoting the MUMN nurses' union, reported on Monday that a nurse suffered a concussion and blurred vision after being assaulted by a patient in police custody who was left unattended at the Mater Dei Hospital emergency department over the weekend. The nurse was one of three assaulted on Saturday.

In a statement on Tuesday, the police said officers from Paola station and the Rapid Intervention Unit were called to assist care workers and a medical team in a Paola home after a patient who suffers from a medical condition became aggressive.

After being brought under control, the man was taken to Mater Dei Hospital by ambulance escorted by the police.

Since this was a call for assistance, and the man was never under arrest, the officers followed established procedure by assisting the ambulance team until they got to hospital. The man was then handed over to hospital staff and the police officers returned to their district and their duties, the police said.

It turned out that the man, while at hospital, became aggressive once more and assistance was sought by policemen there. Four nurses were certified to have been injured, the police said.