Courts / Clare / Report

Addict stabbed doctor trying to treat him

Date
2020-10-15

Stage
Sentence

Primary locality
Ennis

County
Clare

Summary

Stephen Ennis, a 30‑year‑old heroin addict, was sentenced to one year in prison after he stabbed a treating doctor three times in the back at St James' Hospital on 7 March 2020. Ennis had been found collapsed outside a Garda station with a seizure and was brought to the hospital by ambulance. While in the hospital he refused to stay on his trolley, bothered nurses, and eventually withdrew a needle he had taken from his own arm. He held the needle over his head and charged at the doctor, who fled down the corridor. The doctor was not aware of the stabs until a colleague informed him. Ennis pleaded guilty to assaulting a person providing medical care. He has 72 prior convictions, including violent disorder, drug possession, knife possession, burglary and begging. The judge noted that Ennis probably did not intend the assault and that the doctor has made a full recovery.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Addict stabbed doctor trying to treat him. Charges or matters: assaulting a person providing medical care in St James' Hospital, James Street, Dublin 8, on March 7, 2020. Procedural stage: sentence

When: