A 'party-loving' hair stylist from Trafford has been sent on a drink rehabilitation programme after launching a drunken rampage at hospital A&E staff which left a nurse terrified.
Lindsey Saville, 49, had to be restrained after she booted a security guard in the head and spat in the face of a nurse when she was admitted following a medical episode.
Saville, who owns the Off Your Head salon in Stretford - named as a tribute to her ‘partying years’ at the iconic Hacienda nightclub - began screaming and shouting at other patients at a waiting area inside Wythenshawe Hospital after she was admitted following a medical episode.
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She then kicked off her shoes and threw them at staff as they tried to calm her down. Two members of hospital staff had to undergo hepatitis C tests for a year as a result of the skirmish which occurred during the height of the coronavirus pandemic in July 2021.
A nurse at the hospital told Manchester Crown Court they had been left ‘scared’ following the attack.
In a statement, the nurse said: “I have been a nurse for just under two years and have never experienced something like this. I was very angry and upset because I am here to help people, I could have got a serious infection.
''I am now very cautious and have become scared when I see a patient come into A&E accompanied by the police. My concentration has deteriorated since this incident. It was not a very nice situation to be in and my only hope is to not have to go through it again.”
Saville, of Davyhulme Road East, Stretford, admitted two charges of assault by beating and one of an assault of an emergency worker was sentenced to a 12 month community order in place of immediate imprisonment due to her engagement with probation and efforts to get off the drink. She will have to complete 10 rehabilitation activity days and a 12 month alcohol treatment requirement.
Katy Laverty, prosecuting, said: “On the 24th July 2021, Greater Manchester Police received a call from Wythenshawe Hospital that there was a disturbance in their accident and emergency department.
''The defendant had been taken to A&E by ambulance and was extremely intoxicated and volatile on the way there. When she arrived at A&E she began screaming and shouting at other patients in the waiting area. She then got her shoes off and threw them at people surrounding her in the middle of A&E.
“A nurse on duty came over to her to tell her to be quiet and calm down for the benefit of the other patients. However, whilst she tried to lead the defendant off into a side room the defendant spat in her face.
“Security staff and porters then attempted to restrain the defendant on a hospital bed in the side room away from the main waiting area.
''During this period the defendant spat in the face and on the wrist of another staff member. The defendant attempted to punch and kick the hospital staff as they tried to restrain her. As they pinned her down she did manage to kick a staff member in the side of the head ‘as hard as she could’ before the police arrived.
“After she was arrested, the defendant was placed in the back of a police van and taken to the nearby Wythenshawe police station. She was physically and verbally abusive to officers in the van and continued to spit whilst inside.
“In interview the next day the defendant denied her role in the offences and accused the police of attempting to cover up offences that had been committed against her in the past.”
Saville had previous convictions for assault occasioning actual bodily harm in 1990 and for battery in 2004.
Her counsel Patrick Buckley said in mitigation: ''Ms Saville is happy to continue with her alcohol abstinence requirement. They are not superfluous, they are important to her. Hopefully, by continuing with this, she is able to resume her business.
”The delay in proceedings has ultimately worked in her favour as it has allowed her to work with probation and prove to the court that she is serious about turning her life around. She has expressed genuine victim empathy and remorse for her actions.”
In sentencing, judge Mr Recorder Nicholas Fewtrell told Saville she had 'clearly seen the error in her ways’. Recorder Fewtrell added: “You should not be in front of this court and you should not want to be in the future.
“You need to think carefully before getting yourself into situations that could lead you back here. You have had difficulties and negative experiences in your life that explain but in no way excuse your actions on that day.
“It is unlikely that the court would be as lenient in the future as they have been in the past. I wish you good fortune and every success in your attempt to turn your life around.”
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