Spitting teacher avoids prison Hospital toilet row
A SCHOOL teacher has been spared a jail term for spitting in the mouth of a nurse after using a hospital staff toilet.
Nicole Tina Graham, 37, was at the Mount Isa Base Hospital emergency department on April 4 last year when she used a staff toilet and locked the door.
The Townsville Magistrates Court heard it was against hospital policy to lock the door and when the nurse unlocked the toilet Graham became verbally abusive.
After Graham was escorted back to her room by security, she kicked the nurse in the leg and started throwing items around the room, including a chair.
Police prosecutor Subarna Raut said as the nurse tried to calm Graham down she spat at the nurse.
“The spit has landed in the victim’s mouth, on her face and uniform,” he said.
“Security were once again required to restrain the defendant and the defendant has once again spat in the general direction, landing on the victim’s trousers.”
The court heard the nurse reported to infection control but testing was not required as Graham was fully vaccinated.
Graham pleaded guilty to one count of serious assault.
Defence solicitor Claire Grant told magistrate Steven Mosch her client was currently a Catholic college secondary school teacher on the Gold
Coast and a mother of two. Ms Grant said Graham had been admitted to the Mount Isa Base Hospital three days earlier after attempting to take her own life due to bullying at the school she was working at.
“She had been at the hospital effectively awaiting some type of diagnoses and appropriate treatment and had been sleeping on the floor,” she said.
“(This) is a highly relevant factor when one takes into account her frustrated state of mind at the time of the commission of the offence.”
Mr Mosch described the offending as “serious”, “disgusting” and “abhorrent”.
“It should not occur towards anyone let alone a nurse working in a hospital who was simply there carrying out her duties,” he said.
“Anyone of course should be able to go about their work without being subjected to this kind of disgraceful behaviour.”
Graham was sentenced to 18 months’ probation.
Convictions were corded. not re