Student lashed out while in A&E

A STUDENT who bit an A&E nurse after being admitted to hospital because she had drunk too much on Hogmanay has avoided a jail sentence.

Mary Noble, 18, lashed out after nurses told her to behave after she repeatedly slid off her bed in Ninewells Hospital.

The teen then flipped, lashing out with her arms and head before biting charge nurse Jane Baillie.

Fiscal depute John Adams told Dundee Sheriff Court: “The time was around 4am on January 1. The accused had been taken to A&E under the influence of alcohol.

“The accused slid off the bed having been told to stop. The complainer intervened and while she was on the ground the accused bit her on the hand, leaving an obvious bite mark.”

Noble, of Stirling Street, Dundee, pleaded guilty to a charge under the Emergency Workers (Scotland) Act on summary complaint.

Sheriff Alastair Brown imposed a community payback order with 66 hours unpaid work.

An NHS Tayside spokeswoman said: “NHS Tayside vigorously enforces its very strict zero tolerance policy to any kind of violence, both physical and verbal, against any member of our staff, patients or visitors.

“We take each and every incident extremely seriously as it’s a fundamental right of our staff that they can carry out their duties.”