THE Magistrate’s Court has warned that violence against frontline workers will “not be tolerated” and will be met with “appropriate punishment” after a 67-year-old man was jailed for attacking medical staff in the Emergency Department.
Andrew Berry was sentenced to four months’ imprisonment on Tuesday morning after pleading guilty to two counts of common assault.
The incident, which took place on 1 May, involved Berry punching a nurse and pushing a doctor while receiving treatment at the General Hospital after he collapsed due to heavy drinking.
Delivering the sentence, Relief Magistrate David Le Cornu said: “Assaults on paramedics result in a custodial sentence unless there are exceptional circumstances.
“The court will not tolerate such behaviour, and it will be met by appropriate punishment.”
He said that both the nurse and doctor were attempting to provide care to Berry “in order to potentially save his life” when the assault occurred.
“Nothing I have heard from the defence has swayed me into thinking there are any exceptional circumstances,” he added.
The case comes amid growing concern over the safety of emergency workers, following a sharp rise in assaults on paramedics since 2020.
In response, the Jersey Ambulance Service last year launched its ‘Work Without Fear’ campaign to highlight and tackle abuse faced by frontline staff.
Yesterday, the court heard that Berry had drunk a bottle of wine at lunchtime and up to another bottle later that afternoon before collapsing.
He was taken by paramedics to the Emergency Department, where he became uncooperative.
The defendant then punched a nurse with a closed fist and pushed a doctor with both hands.
The nurse reported being punched twice and said she experienced pain as a result of the blows, although neither victim sustained nor reported lasting injuries.
Advocate James Bell, defending, said Berry was “deeply ashamed” and “genuinely remorseful” for his actions, which he did not remember.
The court also heard that Berry had been struggling emotionally since the death of his long-term partner in 2019.
Advocate Bell said his client had become socially isolated, with no close family or friends, and had increasingly turned to alcohol as a way to cope.
Since the incident, Berry had referred himself to the Alcohol and Drugs Service and had stopped drinking.
He had also begun attending mental health support groups, including sessions run by Mind Jersey and the Good Companions Club.
Advocate Bell argued that prison would be a disproportionate response for an offence that did not result in lasting injury.
He also warned that Berry, who lives in Andium housing, could lose his home and become “penniless and homeless” if jailed.
But the Magistrate said that the seriousness of the assault, the circumstances in which it occurred, and Berry’s previous convictions meant custody was unavoidable.
In 2019, Berry pleaded guilty to committing a grave and criminal assault and being drunk and disorderly after attacking two paramedics.
The Magistrate said: “Five years after his last conviction, he is before the court again.”
He imposed a four-month prison sentence, with the two assault charges to run concurrently.
The Magistrate said that attacks on medical staff or police officers were treated as aggravating by both the Magistrate’s and Royal Courts, adding that recently published sentencing guidelines underscored this long-standing approach.
“These guidelines do not introduce a new sentencing policy,” he said.
“They emphasise what has been the policy of this court and the Royal Court in dealing with the aggravating factor of an assault, where it involves a medic or police officer.”
