Doctor left bruised after attack in surgery

A Perth doctor was left with bruising and swelling to her right eye after an unprovoked attack by a patient in her surgery.

Dr Alison Lewis was struck on the head without warning and pressed the ‘panic button’on her computer to alert other staff members.

The violent incident took place after 43-year-old Rayna Haldane“lunged” over the desk in one of the consulting rooms at the Taymount Surgery, near Perth Royal Infirmary.

A colleague immediately responded and saw that Dr Lewis was“holding her face.”

Depute fiscal Bill Kermode added: “She was crying and shaking and said the accused had punched her on the head.

“The complainer had bruising and swelling to her right eye but didn’t require medical attention,”he added.

Haldane, of South Street, Perth, appeared for sentence this week after being remanded in custody while psychiatric and other reports were obtained.

She admitted the assault on Dr Lewis which took place at the Taymount Terrace surgery on August 7, 2019.

Haldane was subject to an August 1, 2019, bail order from the Perth court at the time.

Solicitor David Holmes told the court:“She has no idea why she behaved in the way she did.”

The court heard that the accused had experienced mental health difficulties in the past which had led to other offences.

She had subsequently seen a doctor at Perth’s Murray Royal Hospital in connection with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Sheriff William Wood condemned the accused for the assault on the GP.

“She was doing her job and doing her best to help you,”he added.

He noted she had spent two months in custody - the equivalent of a four-month jail term - while the background reports were obtained.

In view of that, as an alternative to custody, he imposed a Community Payback Order.

Haldane will be supervised for the next six months and there will also be a mental health treatment requirement as part of the order.