Everingham, 41, from Narromine escaped from the War Memorial Hospital in Waverley on Tuesday morning, where he was receiving dialysis for a kidney disease, and was last seen running in his prison greens down Birrell Street in Waverley.

The man, who Magistrate Howard Hamilton called “exceedingly volatile and exceedingly violent” in Dubbo Local Court last week, was being held at Long Bay Correctional Centre after pleading guilty to intimidating and assaulting a police officer and breaching an apprehended violence order.

NSW Police described the escapee on Wednesday as violent and medically unstable and said they feared for his and the general public’s safety.

Police in the Dubbo and Narromine area have been told to keep a lookout for the man who had ties to the area.

The family member said she was worried about Everingham’s health, as he was not receiving treatment that he needed three times a week for a serious disease.

“I believe he’s sick of being sick and sick of being attached to a machine,” she said. “I think that’s why he ran.”

She said Everingham was allegedly gang bashed in September last year, which exacerbated the kidney disease that would otherwise not have surfaced for years.

He suffered head trauma from the attack and was in the intensive care unit for about a week-and-a-half and was not expected to live, the family member said.

“I was told to come down because he probably wouldn’t pull through,” she said.

There were allegedly three people involved in the attack, which occurred after Everingham confronted them about throwing a bottle at his son’s car, according to the family member.

The family member went on to say Everingham was “very misunderstood”.

“He’s not the big ogre that people are making him out to be,” she said. “I believe in my heart of hearts he’s not a bad guy.”

His short temper and “scary appearance” could mislead people she said, but he would never hurt anyone unprovoked.