A knifeman who threatened nurses, leaving them fearing for their lives and those of their patients, has been jailed.
Thug Marvin Salih hurled abuse and had a "fearsome" and "very large" kitchen knife with him when he flew into a rage.
He had previously had an altercation with a paramedic at Hull Royal Infirmary, Hull Live reports.
Nurses had a difficult enough job anyway, and it was "intolerable" that their lives were made even more difficult by fired-up people like him, Hull Crown Court heard. He had earlier this year spat at a paramedic at the same hospital.
Salih, 29, admitted possessing a knife and using threatening behaviour on October 4.
Olivia McGeeney, prosecuting, told the court that Salih got into a confrontation with staff and was asked to leave.
He was known to staff and had been ejected on previous occasions because of his behaviour.
A nurse followed Salih to the toilets and spoke to him, but he told her to "f*** off". She continued to ask him to leave, but he replied: "F*** off, cow" and "F*** off, s**g." She then realised that he had a knife with him.
Salih was told to drop it before being shut inside a toilet. Nurses and staff came to help and held the door closed until the police arrived.
Salih was detained and received medical help, but continued to shout abuse and swear at hospital staff, said Miss McGeeney. A nurse said in a statement that, in the hours after the incident, she was "constantly running through the events" in her head and how it "could have ended differently".
She genuinely feared for her life and those of her colleagues, and was grateful that a member of the public helped to keep the door closed. "I feared for my own safety and that of patients," she said. " Hospitals are meant to be a place of safety." She loved her job and cared passionately about it.
Salih had convictions for 47 previous offences, including possessing an offensive weapon in April 2011, when he was given a youth rehabilitation order. His convictions also included grievous bodily harm in 2014, robbery in 2015 and assaulting an emergency worker at Hull Royal Infirmary in March this year when he spat at a paramedic. He had two theft offences recently.
David Godfrey, mitigating, said: "He had a knife with him because he thought he was in some sort of danger. The nurses saw the knife. He went into the toilet to try to dispose of it. They decided to keep him in there. He panicked. They were trying to keep the door shut. He knows it's ugly. He was scared." Salih had suffered a crack cocaine problem for a number of years.
Judge Mark Bury said of the nurses: "It's hard enough what they have to do without being subject to this sort of fear. It was a fearsome kitchen knife." He told Salih: "You were carrying a very large kitchen knife. It was secreted under your waistband but you got into a confrontation with the staff. You had no doubt been taking drugs.
"Staff were familiar with you because you had been ejected on previous occasions. You were asked to leave. Rather than simply leave, you were abusive. This knife was noticed and you were told to drop it and you were locked in the toilets in order for the police to attend."
Salih was jailed for 18 months.
