Police are investigating a number of alleged assaults on a patient at a hospital in Melbourne's south-east, after the man's family captured the incidents on film.

Billy Aivaliotis, 33, who has cerebral palsy, was recovering in hospital from a brain injury after being hit by a car last year, when his family raised concerns about how he was being treated, his lawyer said.

"They noticed that he regressed somewhat, wasn't eating and had bruising on him and despite their numerous attempts at voicing their concerns to staff at the Caulfield Hospital," Nick Korkliniewski, from law firm Arnold Thomas and Becker, said.

"They took the extreme measure of placing a hidden camera in Billy's room.

"While they didn't want to do it they felt that they had to do it, and I suppose the vision's quite telling."

Caulfield Hospital is one of three public hospitals managed by Alfred Health in Melbourne. ( Alfred Health )

The video, shot by a camera hidden in a picture frame and published by the Herald Sun on Thursday night, shows Mr Aivaliotis being roughly handled, and moved from his bed with a strangle-hold grip by a staff member at the hospital.

A 30-year-old Cranbourne West man, who worked as a nurse at the hospital has been interviewed by police.

He was also stood down by the hospital.

Alfred Health, which manages the hospital, said the family had approached them last week with the footage.

"The video material presented to us by the family is distressing and shocking — and not in keeping with the culture of advanced care patients and families should experience in our hospitals," Alfred Health said in the statement.

"We are continuing to meet with the patient's family and thank them for bringing these issues to our attention," it said.

Mr Korkliniewski said Mr Aivoliotis's parents were extremely upset by their son's treatment.

"I've been told by Billy's sisters that they're quite distraught," he said.

"Outside of the fact that they've had to deal with Billy having significant brain injuries from a car accident, to now have to deal with this has compounded their stress.

"It's quite difficult for them to fathom given the fact that Billy's been put in the care of people that we say are supposed to be professionals and look after people in vulnerable positions."

The hospital said it was cooperating fully with police and was also conducting an internal investigation.

Victorian Health Minister Jill Hennessy said the state's peak authority on healthcare safety, Safer Care Victoria, would conduct an independent investigation.

She would not rule out considering installing cameras in hospital rooms.

"I don't bring a closed mind to any recommendation that Safer Care Victoria might make, but I'm also very conscious that we need to balance safety with privacy," she said.



Mr Korkliniewski said he did not believe the incident should lead to increased surveillance of hospital staff in Victoria.

"We do trust our healthcare professionals at large, but this boils down to the fact that family members and patients alike need to be heard and their concerns need to be actioned," he said.