Daily Dispatch Wednesday 11th October 2006

SENIOR SDLP REPRESENTATIVES ASTONISHED AT SENTENCE OF HOSPITAL ASSAULT

General Practitioner and MP Dr. Alasdair McDonnell said he was astonished at the leniency of the sentence handed out to man who held a knife to a young Doctor’s throat in the Ulster Hospital last year.

Dr. McDonnell said:

“Many people will be sickened when they read today how the courts have once again failed to protect those who work on the front line in our Hospitals.”
“Junior Doctors, already under pressure with working hours and the stress of their job, will feel abandoned by the judiciary. In my role as MP I have already tabled parliamentary questions on this area and will shortly be requesting updated figures from the minister through the same mechanism.”

SDLP Justice Spokesperson Alban Maginness MLA echoed his party colleague’s remarks saying:

“I share the dismay that this sentence has caused amongst medical staff in the Ulster Hospital and the Belfast area generally.”

“What courts must do is send out a clear message that deliberate attacks on medical staff and other health service workers will be punished severely.”
“In the circumstances a 12 month probation order would seem to be wholly inappropriate”

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