Patient accused of punching and throwing hot water over staff at Belfast hospital

Police claimed Brian Stewart may also have fractured the arm of a security guard attempting to restrain him at the Mater on Sunday.

The 62-year-old, of Scotch Row in Belfast, appeared at the city’s Magistrates Court charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm and three counts of common assault.

Stewart is accused of launching the attacks after being approached about an X-ray appointment in one of the voluntary assessment units.

He initially subjected healthcare workers to verbal abuse, becoming violent when they took him to a bay to speak in private, an investigating officer alleged.

She claimed he threw a basin of hot water over two of the staff, punching one of them in the eye and the other on the shoulder.

“Throughout this he was allegedly calling staff ‘faggots’ and ‘Fenian b******s’,” the constable disclosed.

Two security guards who arrived on the ward in a bid to reason with Stewart described him as erratic and extremely abusive.

At one point he threatened to throw them out of the window, the court heard.

Stewart then allegedly lunged and slammed into one of the guards, pinning his arm against a wall in an awkward position.

“He described this pain as excruciating but he could not free his arm due to Mr Stewart trapping him with his body weight,” the officer stated.

When another guard tried to free his colleague the defendant allegedly headbutted him and knocked off his glasses.

As staff restrained him on the ground he continued to overpower them, attempting to bite and kick out.

Eventually other medical staff were able to intervene to bring Stewart under control, according to police.

The guard who had been trapped against the wall subsequently underwent X-ray tests due to the severity of his pain.

“At this time his arm is too swollen to determine if there is a fracture,” the officer added.

Stewart was arrested but assessed as lacking mental capacity to be interviewed about the alleged outburst.

Opposing bail, police claimed he posed a danger to staff at the hospital.

A defence lawyer questioned the decision to charge Stewart due to his level of understanding about the process.

Solicitor Paul McNickle also suggested his client could be released on bail to stay at a suitable medical facility.

“He doesn’t have any real criminal record, I have known this man for 15 years and it is extremely out of character,” Mr McNickle submitted.

District Judge Steeven Keown replied: “There has obviously been a wholesale change in his mental health.”

Stewart was granted bail on condition that he resides at an address approved by police.

“In my view this is a mental health issue more than a criminal issue,” Mr Keown commented.

“The big issue is to get him in somewhere to get the treatment he needs.”