Patient recounts moment he was set on fire at Sydney hospital

In short:

A man said he "thought it was water" when he was doused in accelerant and set alight this week at a Sydney hospital.

Radovan Banic told the ABC he was glad he was targeted, and not someone who "couldn't defend themselves" in the Prince of Wales Hospital.

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Raymond Dungay was charged with two counts of attempted murder and did not apply for bail in court.

A man who survived being set alight during an attack at a Sydney hospital says he is glad he was targeted instead of someone else who "couldn't defend themselves".

Radovan Banic, 54, was one of three people allegedly doused in petrol before he was set alight at the Prince of Wales Hospital in Randwick on Tuesday night.

From his hospital bed on Thursday, Mr Banic recalled the moment he realised he had been doused in accelerant.

"I thought it was water," he told the ABC.

"Then he come towards me I thought 'f***ing go for it mate chuck the water I don't give a f***.'

" And maybe before I even smelled it, I was already alight. "

Police said Mr Banic sustained minor burns, still visible on Thursday, and was in a stable condition.

"To do that to someone in hospital is a shit go man," he said.

"You know what, I'm glad it happened to me and didn't happen to someone who couldn't defend themselves or take their clothes off because mate they wouldn't have been here today."

Police said detectives would allege Raymond Dungay, 48, unsuccessfully attempted to set two other patients, a man and a woman aged 63 and 64, on fire.

Mr Dungay was charged with two counts each of attempted murder, attempted grievous bodily harm and one of assault.

He fronted a Sydney court on Thursday, where he did not apply for bail, after a judge was told Mr Dungay was already on bail at the time of the incident.

NSW Nurses and Midwives Association general secretary Michael Whaites said the incident reflected the rising aggression across the system.

"Unfortunately, this is not the first time we have seen patients being violent towards other patients in the public healthcare system," he said.

NSW Health Services Union assistant secretary Lauren Hutchins said the incident was alarming.

"We are deeply concerned about the level of violence and anti-social behaviour in hospitals. We have seen it increasing and escalating over the last few years," she said.

NSW Health Minister Ryan Park said an urgent review was underway into the incident.