Prison for man who went armed to A&E

A man who went to Grantham A&E armed with a baseball bat and a knife following a verbal altercation on the phone with staff has been jailed for 14 months.

Fred Robinson, 26, of The Grange, Grantham, had been speaking on the phone with a family member who was being treated when he became abusive at around 7.35pm on 22 April.

A nurse had intervened on behalf of the patient and was threatened with violence by Robinson over the phone before the call was ended.

Around 20 minutes later – outside of the usual opening hours for the A&E department – he arrived at the ambulance entrance to the hospital and withdrew a baseball bat from a backpack and used it to smash the glass in the doors, while shouting and swearing. He also kicked the doors.

Staff secured the other entrance and evacuated patients to a place of safety.

When police arrived, Robinson threw the bat at officers before they used tasers to make the arrest. Upon being searched, officers found a knife in his trousers.

Thankfully, nobody was injured in the incident.

Lead investigator DC Stewart Humm said: “The sentencing is reflective of how serious this incident was, where Fred Robinson made threatening phone call to a family member who was being treated at the hospital, and to nursing staff working on the A&E ward. He then went on to carry out his threats by attending the A&E ambulance entrance outside of normal hours armed with a baseball bat and a kitchen knife.

"He put the staff and public attending that hospital in fear by his actions, which is particularly despicable considering that the patients there are at their most vulnerable. His actions also inconvenienced the hospital Trust. He presented with such violence that officers had to deploy tasers to defend themselves and control him. The officers placed themselves in harms way to protect the public whilst dealing with the imminent threat he posed, and thanks to their swift actions, nobody was injured in the incident.”

 

A hospital spokesperson added: “We need to make sure that our teams are protected from violence, aggression and discrimination whilst they are at work, so that they are able to provide the best possible care to patients. We take a zero tolerance approach to violence, aggression and discrimination in our hospitals and we will take action if our staff suffer any kind of abuse.”

Robinson was sentenced to 14 months in prison for affray at a hearing at Lincoln Crown Court on Wednesday, 27 June. He was also given concurrent sentences of 10 months for possession of a knife/ pointed article, six months for possession of an offensive weapon in a public place, and two months for criminal damage.