Man (35) who threatened to slit nurse’s throat is jailed for four months
The nurse was so frightened that she locked herself and others in a room until police arrived
Patrick McGothigan
Causeway Hospital, Coleraine
A Co Antrim man who threatened a psychiatric nurse that he would “slit her throat” was jailed for four months on Monday.
Jailing Patrick McGothigan at Coleraine Magistrates’ Court, District Judge Peter King warned that “custody is inevitable — this court will always seek to protect NHS staff”.
Appearing at court by videolink from prison, McGothigan (35), from Fogarty Crescent in Ballycastle, admitted common assault and making a threat to kill arising from an incident on September 21 this year.
A prosecuting lawyer told the court how McGothigan, along with his probation officer, was at Causeway Hospital when he began to behave in an aggressive manner.
Getting “right into the face” of a psychiatric nurse, he threatened to “slit her throat”.
Causeway Hospital, Coleraine
The court heard the nurse was so frightened that she locked herself and others in a room until police arrived.
McGothigan had already left when officers arrived, but they arrested him at his home a short time later.
He denied making any threats, claiming that he actually threatened to cut his own throat.
Defence counsel Alan Stewart said while there may have been some confusion, McGothigan now accepts he was at fault, highlighting that, much like his previous offences, the defendant acted “stupidly and impulsively and regrets it”.
The barrister revealed that McGothigan is due for release in January 2025 and is also due to be interviewed by the Parole Commissioners in the coming weeks, emphasising that “he [McGothigan] is willing to do whatever work is necessary to get him on the right course”.
Jailing McGothigan for four months, District Judge Peter King warned that he “takes a dim view” of assaults on health service staff.
