The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
‘Frenzied’ woman attacked nurse at hospital staff base
A“frenzied” woman stormed into Perth Royal Infirmary’s accident and emergency staff base and attacked an on-duty nurse.
Elizabeth Williamson, of Leslie Court, Perth, had arrived at A&E at around 9.40pm on August 29 2019.
Staff nurse Moira Macleod was in the nearby treatment room area when Williamson began shouting aggressively in the reception area.
Fiscal depute Bill Kermode told the court the secure double doors, which usually block the treatment area from reception, were open. Williamson was shouting, “I need to see a doctor” and banging on the reception window.
Mr Kermode said she then ran through the waiting room to the treatment area. Working nurses attempted to calm her but she continued to shout she needed to see a doctor.
“The accused moved into the staff base, picked up staff water bottles and threw them around,” he added.
Witnesses trying to calm her down described her as “in a total frenzy”.
Williamson then placed two hands on Ms Macleod’s shoulders and pushed her against the wall.
The 64-year-old was not injured.
Medical staff who saw Williamson’s attack were under the impression she was under the influence of a controlled substance.
A hospital alarm was sounded and police quickly arrived at the scene as Williamson left the treatment area.
Mr Kermode told the court police felt Williamson was “experiencing some form of episode,” and that she was hallucinating.
Williamson, 36, admitted nurse behaving in a threatening or abusive manner at A&E.
She was also convicted of assaulting, obstructing or hindering registered nurse Moira Macleod by pushing her on the body, against a wall.
Williamson appeared at Perth Sheriff court and was ordered to be of good behaviour until a further review in four months.
Sheriff Lindsay Foulis stressed a crucial aspect of her good behaviour will be complying with an unpaid work order he issued for a separate offence.
On March 31 2019, she had phoned police in the early hours of the morning, alleging there was somebody in the back garden of her Fairfield home. When officers arrived, she assaulted them, repeatedly attempted to punch PC Mark Ross and kick him and a colleague on the body.
For her police attack, Williamson was handed 120 hours of unpaid work, to be completed in nine months.
Sheriff Foulis said: “It totally escapes me and has done for all the time I have sat on the bench in Perth Sheriff Court that persons behave in an abusive,
obstructive and violent way to medical staff.
“I in no shape or form condone it but one can envisage there are cases where police officers are on the receiving end. Police officers are trained to deal with this and have things with them. Medical staff do not have these, nor do they
have training but it seems nowadays some people apparently don’t have any issue with behaving in an abusive, obstructive or threatening way to these staff.”
The sheriff said Williamson was “asking for trouble” by taking controlled substances.