Woman guilty of assaulting hospital staff

A WOMAN assaulted hospital staff in Carmarthen on a ward where she was an in-patient after they confiscated a mobile phone from her.

Louise Thomas, aged 36, appeared at Llanelli Magistrates’ Court on Thursday and pleaded guilty to three charges of assault involving three workers at Glangwili Hospital’s Morlais ward on May 31.

At court and supported by a nurse, Thomas gave her address as care of Bryn Gofal ward at Llanelli’s Prince Philip Hospital.

Prosecutor Sian Vaughan said: “Staff were dealing with the defandant in her room following an earlier incident and they took a mobile phone from her.

“She scratched at them on their hands and also slapped one of them to the arm.

“The scratches broke the skin but there were no substantial injuries sustained.”

The court heard one of the staff members suffered no injuries and Thomas made no comment at police interview

Defence solicitor Richard Morgan said Thomas suffered with mental health and had been an inpatient at the time. “She reacted to a mobile phone being seized,” he said.

“She apologises for what happened and has no recollection of the incident.

“In the incident she had tried to use hairspray (against the workers) but there was no injuries caused by that.”

Magistrates gave Thomas a 12 month conditional discharge for all three assault charges.

She was also told to pay £85 court costs, £20 victim surcharge and compensation of £50 to each of the three hospital staff.