A drunk male who assaulted a nurse while being looked after at a hospital emergency department has been prosecuted under new legislation designed to protect emergency services personnel
Mark Gallagher was being treated at Hull Royal Infirmary for a head injury he sustained while under the influence of alcohol when he attacked a nurse.
Gallagher grabbed the nurse by her the wrists and pushed her during the violent outburst in the early hours of 16 February.
When hospital security staff were called to the incident to escort Mr Gallagher off the premises, he then punched one and kicked another before he was arrested by police.
The NursingTimes.Net reported that the nurse had been left “shaken and nervous” as a result of the vicious and unprovoked attack.
On Monday, Gallagher appeared at Hull Magistrates’ Court to admit three counts of assault.
The court was told Gallagher had been drinking with a relative and was taken to the hospital’s emergency department with a head injury after he had fallen over.
Gallagher went for scans which came back clear, but the kind-hearted staff at the hospital allowed him to stay in a cubicle in order to “sleep it off”.
James Byatt, for the CPS, told the court that while a nurse was treating a patient nearby, Mr Gallagher came in and assaulted her.
Mr Byatt said: “She felt helpless and it has made her more wary of intoxicated patients in the future”.
Lynda Carmichael, chair of the magistrates, told Mr Gallagher: “It is a very, very serious offence.
“These are people in their workplace and, as such, deserve not only the respect, but certainly to be safe in their workplace.”
Magistrates imposed a curfew on Gallagher, preventing him from being outside between the hours of 7pm to 7am for eight weeks.
He was also given a 12-month community order and was ordered to pay £150 in compensation to each of the three members of staff.
He was also ordered to pay £85 in costs and a victim surcharge of £85.
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