Mansfield man punched paramedic in the face after treatment for overdose

A nurse tried to get George Richards back into his room when he went in search of a vending machine at King's Mill Hospital, Sutton, on October 23, 2022, Mansfield Magistrates’ Court heard.

Faith Rowan, prosecuting, said a paramedic took his elbow in order to guide him back, but Richards, aged 21, pushed him away and said: “Don’t touch me.”

He tried to trip the paramedic up by grabbing his shirt and forcing him over before punching him in the face.

This caused “some pain and discomfort” and left him puzzled as to why he was struck.

In a statement, he said he comes to work to look after people and describes assaults on medical staff as happening “often”, but they are rarely reported.

Richards, of Recreation Street, admitted assaulting an emergency worker.

Donna Pursglove, mitigating, said Richards suffers from an anti-social personality disorder and was recently diagnosed with autism.

She said: “He is estranged from his family and had lots of periods of homelessness.

“He was taking a lot of medication. He took too many diazepam. He doesn't have a lot of memory of what happened.

“The way he sees things is very different from the way we would see things. The paramedic wouldn't have known the difficulties Mr Richards was facing.”

Richards was given a six-month conditional discharge and was ordered to pay compensation of £100 and a surcharge.