Enniskillen man who assaulted A&E staff could be jailed

A 26-year-old man who went berserk and assaulted a nurse and a porter in Enniskillen's South West Acute Hospital A&E department, has been warned he could be jailed later this month.
The incident happened at the South West Acute Hospital in Enniskillen last JuneThe incident happened at the South West Acute Hospital in Enniskillen last June
The incident happened at the South West Acute Hospital in Enniskillen last June

Judge Paul Ramsey QC told Jason Magerr that attacks on hospital staff would not be tolerated and while the custody threshold in his case had been crossed he wished to consider submissions and medical reports before passing sentence.

Magerr, of Carnmore Lodge, Cornagrade, Enniskillen, had admitted two counts of common assault, damaging a nurse’s glasses, together with hospital equipment, including a computer monitor and other equipment, all on June 21 last year.

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Prosecution lawyer Michael McAleer told Omagh Crown Court Magerr’s outburst was captured on CCTV, which presented the court “with a picture which paints a thousand words”, allowing him to limit his submissions.

Mr McAleer also revealed that in addition to being seen punching and kicking out at staff, over £3,000 worth of damage to equipment was caused by Magerr after he was taken to the A&E department with self-inflicted wounds.

At one stage he even grabbed a pair of scissors and self-harmed again. Although a nurse was initially able to quieten things down, Magerr then turned on her.

Police had been tasked after it was reported that he was wrecking the place and attacking staff, but he left before they arrived.

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Mr McAleer said while the criminal damage charges were the more serious, the most aggravating feature of the case was his attack on hospital staff.

Defence lawyer Gavyn Cairns said that Magerr wished to make a complete and unreserved apology to the hospital staff. This he said, copper fastened a letter he had written earlier, and given to the court, without any prompting from legal advisers.

This, said Mr Cairns, showed genuine remorse for what was disgraceful and outrageous behaviour on the part of Magerr, who acknowledged that the custody threshold had been crossed.

The defence lawyer said his client has had a protracted history of prescription drug and alcohol abuse, but which in the past eight months he has been trying to tackle with the aid of a local group.

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Mr Cairns added that Magerr had already served what was tantamount to the equivalent of the maximum for common assault, given credit for his guilty pleas, and that the court, through its armoury of options, could deal with him by way of an additional penalty and leave something hanging over his head.

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