A coronial inquest into a deadly confrontation between two dementia patients at a Gold Coast hospital has heard the incident could have been prevented if the patient responsible for the attack had been assigned a security guard.

Former Gold Coast police officer Kevin Farr, 61, was punched in the head by Robert Hunter, 77, who entered his room inside Robina Hospital's complex management unit in October 2023.

Mr Farr suffered a brain bleed and died the next day.

The 20-bed unit was created in 2021 to cater for patients with complex psychosocial and functional needs while they wait to be discharged.

On the first day of the inquest, the nurse manager for the unit, Deborah Corry, told the Southport Coroner's Court it was not intended to be a ward for severe dementia patients when it was set

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