A priest attacked two NHS workers while violently resisting efforts to have her discharged from hospital after treatment, a court has heard.
Sheila Sherwood kicked senior nurse David Gallagher in the groin before biting security guard Sean Brien as a team of staff tried to remove her from Warrington Hospital in Cheshire on November 7 last year.
The 56-year-old, who is ordained by the Old Catholic Church – a group outside the Roman Catholic Church which allows women to be priests, had been admitted for an undisclosed illness earlier in the month.
The treatment saw staff insert a cannula – a tube used to administer or drain fluids – and apply some dressings.
Mr Gallagher, the ward manager, tried to discharge her on November 6 but she refused to have a cannula removed.
Sign up for all of the latest stories
Start your day informed with Metro's News Updates newsletter or get Breaking News alerts the moment it happens.
He decided she would be removed the next day ‘as it was getting late’, Warrington Magistrates Court was told.
Angela Blackmore, prosecuting, said Sherwood was told she ‘was medically fit to leave’ at 10am but she responded ‘by being verbally abusive’.
Ms Blackmore continued: ‘Mr Gallagher said that he went to extensive efforts to make sure was was able to leave the hospital but the reason she did not want to leave was because she did not have food.
‘He went and got her provisions that she could take with her but she would not allow him to remove the cannula.
‘Mr Gallagher called for security and with their help in holding Sherwood, a nurse was able to cut the dressing off.
‘They had to use force to remove the cannula as she actively resisted.’
When Mr Gallagher cleaned the small incision left by the cannula, Sherwood ‘forcibly kicked him to the groin’ using ‘both legs’, which caused ‘great pain’, the court heard.
The prosecution added: ‘He had to take a step back to recompose himself then assisted the other nurses to get her out of the hospital.
‘They were able to get her into a wheelchair but she was able to wriggle out of it. She was struggling.’
More Trending
Mr Brien, the security guard, said Sherwood bit him ‘quite hard to the right hand above the thumb and drew a small amount of blood’ during the fray, and managed to throw herself out of the wheelchair while kicking.
Sherwood, who represented herself in court, denied assault but was convicted and ordered to pay £420 in fines and compensation.
She told the court: ‘You are all lying. It is very upsetting. I am not listening to lies. I should not even be here. It’s a false conviction and I am not happy.
‘None of this actually happened. I am not the only person that knows that did not happen. I cannot bite with no teeth.’
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
MORE: Dyson’s Black Friday sale has started and prices are slashed by up to £550
MORE: Are the government profiting from pollution? Readers weigh in
