Bridget Stokes.
Two women have been given suspended jail sentences after admitting assaulting a man as he lay in a coma in Altnagelvin Hospital in Derry.
Bridget Patricia Mongan (23), of Stanley’s Walk in the city and Eileen Selina Stokes (29), from Mourne View Park in Newtownstewart, Co Tyrone, pleaded guilty to assaulting Patrick Mongan in the hospital’s intensive care unit on 4 January this year.,
Both women also admitted to assaulting three members of hospital staff.
They also pleaded guilty to a charge of disorderly behaviour.
The court heard the assault was so severe a doctor lay across the head of the patient to protect him as he lay in an induced coma after being admitted to the unit with a serious head injury.
The court heard Mr Mongan – the partner of Stokes and the brother of her co-accused, Mongan – had made a full recovery thanks the professionalism of staff who acted “promptly and effectively” to protect the patient.
Eileen Stokes.
A prosecutor told the court both accused were in a drunken state when they were earlier verbally abusive and aggressive to staff after being refused entry to the ward as only two visitors were permitted at any time and that family members were already by Mr Mongan’s bedside.
The heard when the two women eventually got in to the unit they began punching Mr Mongan on the head and pulling at his fluid drips, causing his pulse rate to rise and his condition to become unstable.
As a result of the assault, Mr Mongan’s condition became unstable and his pulse rate increased.
The attack was witnessed by other patients and visitors in the ward and that staff had to leave their patients to help eject both women from the ward.
Defence solicitor Seamus Quigley said the incident was “as bad as it could get” and nothing he could say could diminish the seriousness of what happened.
He said due to their drunken state, the two women wrongly believed hospital staff had conspired to keep Mr Mongan from waking up and their intention was to waken him.
Stressing the two defendants had pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity, Mr Quigley said Mongan had spent the equivalent of four months in custody while on remand and Stokes the equivalent of three months in custody.
Imposing the suspended sentences, District Judge Barney McElhom said the incident was “extremely serious” and could have had fatal consequences for Mr Mongan.
Commending for the way they reacted to an incident, he said hospitals shold be places of “sanctuary” for staff, patients and visitors.
Describing the behaviour of both women as “utterly disgraceful” he said they should be thoroughly ashamed of themselves.
Imposing a four-month jail sentence on Mongan, suspended for three years and a three-month sentence on Stokes, suspended for two years, Mr McElholm stressed the longest sentence he could impose was six months and he had to take into consideration the length of time both had already spent in custody and their guilty pleas which entitled them to a one-third reduction.
An earlier court was told Stokes and Mr Mongan had reconciled and were back living together.
Tags: