The General Secretary of the Psychiatric Nurses Association has praised the staff at St Otteran’s Hospital for their bravery in dealing with a situation on Friday night in which a woman was fatally stabbed.

A man in his fifties, who's also a psychiatric patient, remains in Garda custody in Waterford after the incident during which another patient and staff member were injured.

A post mortem is being carried out this afternoon at University Hospital Waterford on the body of the deceased, a woman in her fifties who's believed to be from the Waterford area.

Both the Gardai and the HSE have launched separate investigations into the incident.

Des Kavanagh from the PNA says staff acted fast and should be commended for their bravery: “From the reports I have available to me I just want to congratulate the nurses involved last night who were so brave in disarming the man involved, and in taking care of other patients in the system.”