A TEENAGER was sent to a youth offender institution after assaulting a nurse and hospital security officer.

Paige Milligan attacked nurse Analiza Pera at Royal Bournemouth Hospital before pulling out a pair of scissors.

The bladed object was taken from the 18-year-old by hospital security officer John Dalglish, however, Milligan then assaulted him.

Police were called to the hospital and Milligan was arrested at the scene of the incident, which took place in August last year.

A spokesman for Dorset Police said: “We received a report that at around 10am on Saturday 3 August 2019 a patient had assaulted a nurse at the Royal Bournemouth Hospital.

“It was reported that they had then produced a pair of scissors, which were taken off the female patient by a security officer, who she then assaulted. Officers attended and an 18-year-old woman was arrested.”She was subsequently issued with a postal requisition for two offences of assaulting an emergency worker and possessing an article with a blade or point in a public place.”

Milligan appeared at Poole Magistrates’ Court earlier this month charged with two counts of assaulting emergency workers and a further count of having a blade or object that was sharply pointed in a public place.

She admitted all three offences and was committed to detention in a young offender institution.

Magistrates handed her an eight-week sentence for the charge related to the scissors. They also issued three-week sentences for each of the assault charges to run concurrently.

Milligan, of St Paul’s Lane, Bournemouth, was also ordered to pay Ms Pera and Mr Dalglish £50 compensation, respectively.

Karen Allman, director of Human Resources at Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospitals, said: “Our staff need to be able to do their jobs without the risk of attack.

“We take very seriously any reports and will investigate thoroughly. Where appropriate we will work with the police to prosecute.

“Attacks not only affect our staff, they also take valuable resources away from front line care for our other patients.”

Earlier this year, the Crown Prosecution Service said it had prosecuted more than 50 assaults a day in the first year of legislation making attacks on emergency workers a specific offence. Between November 2018 and 2019, almost 20,000 offences were charged under the Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act – three-quarters of which were assault by beating.

Based on the first cases to go through the courts, figures showed a conviction rate of 90 per cent.