An angry patient who went on a rampage at Oamaru Hospital left a large quantity of his infectious blood splattered about walls, floors and medical equipment, the Oamaru District Court was told yesterday.
On May 12, Mark John Sheridan leapt from his bed, breaking an intravenous (IV) tube and spraying his highly infectious hepatitis C blood around his room.
He then assaulted two staff with a drip pole and smashed items, terrifying another patient.
Yesterday, before Judge Robert Spear, Sheridan (29), unemployed, of Oamaru, admitted two charges of assaulting Robert Douglas MacDuff and Joy Margaret Hay using an IV pole as a weapon, and intentional damage of medical equipment, windows, cups, vases and other items owned by Waitaki District Health Services Ltd, with reckless disregard for others.
A police summary of the offences said Sheridan had been admitted to the high-dependency ward at the hospital but, without warning, angrily leapt from his bed, knocking his IV drip stand to the ground.
The tubing broke, spraying his highly infectious blood all around the room.
Picking up the drip pole, he swung it violently at two staff in the room, who, fearing for their safety, backed into a corner.
While trying to escape, one of the staff was hit with the pole on the shoulders and legs.
Sheridan went down the corridor, smashing anything in his way, and picked up a table and threw it through a window.
One patient was so terrified, she ripped out her IV drip and shut herself in an en suite, lying on the floor against the door with her feet against the toilet to stop Sheridan entering.
He continued to throw books, a sewing machine, desk drawers and anything he could find through the broken window.
"A large quantity of infectious blood was splattered about the walls, floors and medical equipment," police said.
Counsel Ngaire Alexander said Sheridan had been treated for diabetes since age 14.
He was admitted to the hospital on May 12 with low blood-sugar levels, and was put on a dextrose drip.
Sheridan had no recollection of the events at the hospital until he was in a cell at the Oamaru police station.
He knew he had to get off drugs if he was not going to die, Ms Alexander said.
He also admitted a further charge of assaulting his brother, Noel Ross Sheridan, on January 26, and faces charges of possessing an offensive weapon (a concrete block) and threatening to do grievous bodily harm to a constable on August 24, for which he has yet to enter a plea.
He was remanded in custody to today for sentencing.
