Student nurses are more scared than ever for their safety after another late-night attack near Christchurch Hospital.

One has told of carrying scissors in her pocket for security while walking to her car after a late shift. The nurses union has lamented the lack of security near the hospital and a Canterbury District Health Board (CDHB) member has described the ongoing lack of parking as "embarrassing".

In the latest incident, a student nurse was left wounded after a man armed with a knife allegedly robbed and assaulted her on Hagley Ave after she left work about 10.30pm on Thursday.

ALDEN WILLIAMS/STUFF The incident highlights a need for more adequate hospital parking, NZNO organiser Christin Watson says. (File photo)

"Police responded quickly and arrested the alleged offender in the vicinity a short time later," Senior Sergeant Paul Reeves said.

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Police alleged the man stole the woman's handbag, laptop and personal possessions then ran off. The woman, a student at Ara, was taken to hospital and treated for her injuries. She has since been discharged.

​The victim's family said she was "doing good" and "getting a lot of support".

The CDHB said in a statement that the woman was seriously assaulted and staff were "very concerned" by the attack. A spokeswoman said staff and students had been advised how to keep safe on their way to and from work when it was dark, including suggested walking routes where there were security patrols close to the hospital and a staff shuttle that would take employees to staff car parks between 8pm and 1am.

She said incidents like this were "rare" and security would be on "heightened alert". It is the fifth such reported incident around the hospital in the last two-and-a-half years and has left nurses on edge.

Student nurse Jayda Taiepa, 20, said she always clutched a pair of scissors in her pocket on the 20-minute walk to her car after a shift, or called her mother so someone knew exactly where she was.

"[It's] crazy I feel I have to do that. I dread going in each day purely for the anxiety I feel while I'm walking."

She said while many of her friends were able to be dropped off and picked up, that "wasn't a reality for everyone". Student nurses were now more terrified than ever, she said, especially as some did not leave work until after 11pm, and they were not told about the park-and-ride shuttle services.

The New Zealand Nursing Organisation (NZNO) has expressed concerns about the lack of safe car parking for afternoon staff since 2015. Members started a petition asking hospital managers to provide safe and adequate car parking options in February last year after a series of incidents – including one where a masked man approached a worker from behind and pressed what may have been a firearm into the back of her head.

NZNO organiser Christin Watson said it was "extremely frustrating". He knew first-hand the long-lasting effect an attack could have on the victim and other hospital staff.

"Someone I know well was attacked [near Christchurch Hospital] a while ago and it really stuck with her. At first she felt unsafe walking . . . but then she was really angry. She was doing all the right things but the security in place was not in place to make sure she got back to her car safely and that seems unfair."

The prospect of walking alone at night could be "horrendous" for staff, some of whom were parking more than a kilometre away on Moorhouse Ave, he said.

The only long-term solution was to provide more accessible parking, ideally on the site purchased by Ōtākaro and earmarked for the new metro sports facility, he said. He acknowledged available land was a problem and the CDHB was "working with what they've got".

Beefing up security on the main routes to car parks was not sustainable, he said, as there were too many potential parking spots. Staff could ask for an escort back to their cars, but might have to wait until one was available.

CDHB member Aaron Keown said it was "embarrassing" how long the issue of inadequate parking had plagued the hospital. No-one was taking ownership for a parking plan, he said.

The delayed metro sports facility development was the main problem, he said.

"The [Christchurch City] council should have held the Government to account and the Government has dropped the ball."

Keown said he was trying to push a plan for a publicly-owned multi-storey car park through the council, which he thought would be a source of pride for the community.

"The parking and accessibility to that hospital are a big Achilles heel for our current health system. At best you would currently call it a mess, and that's being complimentary."

Police advised people to walk in well-lit areas, keep their cellphone within easy reach, walk facing traffic. If you think someone is following you, keep looking ahead and walk briskly, and cross the road and see if they follow. If you are attacked, try to escape and get to safety.

"Unless it is absolutely necessary to defend yourself to avoid harm, the best thing to do is to move away, avoid a confrontation, call police and provide them with a good description," the police website states.

Tane Faatafa, 18, appeared by audio visual link in the Christchurch District Court on Friday morning charged with injuring with intent to injure the student nurse, wounding the woman with intent, robbing the woman of a handbag, laptop, and personal possessions while armed with a knife, and unlawfully having a knife in a public place.

He was handcuffed and refused to give his duty lawyer an address or family contact number.

Faatafa will stay in custody while a legal aid application is processed. Judge Stephen O'Driscoll remanded him to April 30.