Stephen Ennis (30) chased down and stabbed the doctor after he was brought to the hospital having been found having a seizure outside a garda station.
Ennis of Cashel Road, Crumlin, Dublin pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to assaulting a person providing medical care in in St James' Hospital, James Street, Dublin 8, on March 7th, 2020.
He has 72 previous convictions, including convictions for violent disorder, possession of drugs for sale or supply, possession of knives, burglary and begging.
Blood sample
Garda Ciaran O'Sullivan told Fiona Crawford BL, prosecuting, that Ennis was found collapsed outside Pearse Street Garda Station having a seizure and was brought by ambulance to St James' Hospital.
Gda O'Sullivan said that while in the hospital Ennis would not stay on his trolley and was bothering nurses, before appearing to calm down.
Ennis agreed to have a blood sample taken and a doctor inserted a needle into his wrist. Ennis then withdrew the needle, held it over his head and charged towards the doctor.
The doctor ran away from Ennis down the corridor shouting for help, but they ended up bundled on the floor together. A health care worker came to his assistance and got Ennis off of the doctor.
The doctor was unaware that he had been stabbed three times in the back until he was told so by his colleague.
Ennis was brought back to the garda station where he was deemed to be unfit to be interviewed for some time. When he was interviewed, he said he did not remember much of the incident, but admitted he had stabbed the doctor.
Heroin addict
Gda O'Sullivan agreed with Keith Spencer BL, defending, that his client was a heroin addict and that the seizure was caused by withdrawal symptoms. He accepted Ennis was behaving “erratically” in the hospital and “babbling” that somebody was going to kill him.
Mr Spencer said his client used “clean needles” so the doctor would not have caught a transferable disease. He said his client was introduced to heroin while in prison for a minor offence.
Counsel said Ennis is completely drug free for eight months since going into custody. He has two children.
Judge Martin Nolan said “thankfully” the doctor appears to have made a complete recovery. He said he accepted that Ennis “probably did not mean to do it” and has no memory of the offence.
Judge Nolan sentenced Ennis to one year imprisonment.
