SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - A man walked into the Stanton Territorial Hospital Wednesday and stabbed himself in the chest with a knife he took from the hospital's kitchen.

Hospital CEO Kay Lewis said the man, who is in his mid-30s, had been waiting for treatment in the emergency room before the incident.

"He was there a while. He did leave the department and went outside of the hospital and came back in and entered the kitchen area of the hospital. At that point in time, he took a knife and made self-inflicted wounds," she said, adding the incident took place during the late afternoon.

Lewis said the man sustained serious injuries but hospital staff responded quickly.

"He was suffering internal injuries. A code white was called to de-escalate the situation. Staff responded very well," she said. "The patient was transferred to the emergency department and treated there. He was in critical condition but was stabilized."

Lewis said the man was medevaced to Edmonton Wednesday night.

She said he came into the emergency room with a physical condition but did not specify what it was.

The hospital would not release his name but said he has an address in Yellowknife.

Lewis said no staff were harmed and the hospital is following up with critical stress de-briefing. Although the hospital does have a violent intervention crisis response team, Lewis said it was an unusual situation.

"We have security generally in the hospital," she said. "We don't normally anticipate these kinds of incidents, especially in the kitchen area."