Nursing student disappointed after prosecutors discontinued the case

A nursing student said she felt unsafe after prosecutors dropped the case against a man who strangled her while she was on shift.

– said Katie, 20 years old Nolan’s show she thought a patient was going to “kill” her at Craigavon ​​Area Hospital in August.

The Prosecutor General’s Office (PPS) said it understood this was a “deeply disturbing incident” and realised the decision not to prosecute was “disappointing”.

He added that the decision was made only after “the most careful consideration” of available evidence and legal issues.

Katie, who was referred to only by her first name on “The Nolan Show,” said she was helping a male patient back to bed during the night shift when he grabbed her by the neck and tried to push her to the floor.

The patient had previously been admitted to a mental health unit and was due to be discharged from hospital.

“My legs were a little bit spread apart so he couldn’t push me over. I said, ‘Please let me go,’ but they tried to push me off again,” she said.

Katie then said he put his hand around her neck.

“I tried to scream but I couldn’t make any sound because he was squeezing me so hard I couldn’t breathe.

“In my head I thought, ‘He’s going to kill me,’” she added.

“It was mostly his thumb and that part of your hand (palm) and the rest of his fingers on the sides of my neck.”

Help only arrived when the medical assistant shouted.

The PPS initially said it would take the case to court but later decided the defendant’s health meant a conviction was unlikely.

Prosecutors informed Katie of their decision in writing.

As a result, she found that she could not sleep.

“When I was told that the PPS would press charges, I no longer worried about going to work or going to college.”

However, when she learned that PPS had discontinued the case, she felt disappointed.

“He won’t get in trouble for trying to kill me – I’m nervous going to work, I haven’t slept, I feel really let down.”

She added that she was told that mental health workers “discharged him in the morning and decided they couldn’t help him anymore – that he didn’t need their help.”

“The next morning the family was supposed to come to talk and say he had to go home.”

Katie said that the PPS found that the patient was delirious, but could not understand why he was being discharged from the hospital when his condition did not allow him to be discharged from the hospital.

“He was discharged and found compos mentis (of sound mind). He was seen by other employees and other people – I don’t understand.”

The PPS said it understood this was a “deeply distressing incident” and was aware that the decision not to prosecute was “disappointing” for Katie, but could assure her that the assurances had been made only after “the most careful consideration” of the available evidence and legal issues.

Katie said the attack and the decision to drop the investigation forced her to reflect on her career.

“It’s constantly on my mind – I have a career ahead of me where someone could do this and they won’t do anything about it – that’s a very big deterrent.”

The Southern Trust said in a statement that security staff receive “specialist training in incident management and response in our emergency departments” and wear body cameras.

The foundation added that the emergency department (ED) staff also undergo training as specified under the Ministry of Health’s anti-violence and aggression program.

The Royal College of Nursing in Northern Ireland said that “employers have a duty to make every effort to provide a safe working environment where nurses feel confident that incidents will be dealt with quickly and robustly and those attacked will receive full support.”

It said attacks on nurses were a “serious issue”, adding that it had worked with the department to develop a framework on violence and aggression, which was “welcome”.

The document states that it is extremely important that the ministry and health care employers “fulfill their duties and responsibilities of care” towards staff.