Patient flies into rampage after Leeds A&E keeps him waiting five hours

A court heard Mark Stevens flew into a rage after being made to wait five hours in the casualty department at St James’s Hospital in Leeds.

The heavily-built 54-year-old racially abused security staff and assaulted a police community support officer during the incident on September 10 last year.

Carmel Pearson, prosecuting, said police officers were called but Stevens refused to calm down and the situation went “horribly out of control.”

Stevens grabbed hold of the stab vest of one of the officers. The officer then suffered a serious injury to the finger of his hand as he struggled to restrain him.

The officer had to undergo surgery to have the finger pinned following the incident.

The court heard Stevens suffers from paranoid schizophrenia and went to the hospital for help around 10pm.

Miss Pearson said Stevens became aggressive with medical staff because of the length of time he was made to wait.

He was seen by a consultant but continued to be abusive and security staff were called.

Stevens racially abused the security officers as he was being wheeled from the department and hit a PCSO who was initially called to deal with the incident.

Stevens calmed down and apologised after realising the police officer was seriously hurt.

He pleaded guilty to inflicting grievous bodily harm, common assault and racially aggravated threatening behaviour.

Alex Boyd, mitigating, said Stevens had gone to the hospital as a last resort after failing to get the help he needed from his support workers.

He said: “He had been waiting for five hours before being seen by a medical professional.

“He should not have acted in the way he did but expressed his remorse.”

Stevens was given a 15 month prison sentence, suspended for two years. He was also made the subject of 12 month supervision and a mental health treatment requirement.

Recorder Anthony Hawks said: “It was an absolutely disgraceful incident in a hospital setting, where people were racially abused, a woman was assaulted and a police officer ended up having a finger pinned.

“But he is not a well man. He is going to have to learn that, particularly has he is likely to have to present himself to medical professionals in the future, that conducting himself in the proper manner is the best way of getting medial attention.”