Seriously ill children were left terrified as a delusional man caused chaos in a city centre hospital for nine hours.
Gary Hughes had formed the belief organised groups who were in cahoots with hospital staff intended to kill him, harvest his organs and harm his family, Newcastle Crown Court heard. He climbed onto an internal roof in the RVI, in Newcastle, and started tearing up and smashing tiles and throwing pieces of them towards NHS staff, police officers and members of the public.
Youngsters at a nearby ward for the Great North Children’s Hospital, some of who were being treated for cancer, were left petrified and hundreds of patients and staff suffered huge disruption.
Police were called to the RVI around 7.40am on June 3 last year after Hughes climbed onto the wrong side of an internal balcony on the first floor in the New Victoria Wing. Lucy Todd, prosecuting, said: “He jumped down onto a flat roof in the reception area and started lifting marble tiles and smashing them into small pieces.
“He then threw them in the direction of the police officer, NHS staff and members of the public. He picked up several pieces of tiles and threw them at a glass window at the front entrance and also smashed a skylight and roof fitting using a roof tile.”
Police and emergency services attending the incident at the main entrance to the RVI hospital in Newcastle.
(Image: Chronicle Live)
At 4.55pm, he finally came down to ground level via a ladder and was arrested. He told police he was scared for his safety due to an incident the previous night so jumped on the roof and smashed the tiles to attract attention.
The court heard he caused an estimated £25,000 of damage to the hospital. Miss Todd said the RVI said in a business impact statement that Hughes’ actions had caused huge disruption as well as damage.
The prosecutor added that severely ill youngsters at the Great North Children’s Hospital were affected by the offending. She added: “Parents complained their children were very frightened of the shouting of the man and the extensive police presence.
“Hundreds of other patients attending for outpatient appointments were impacted. It created confusion for many patients who were already anxious about their visits.
“Significant areas needed to be cordoned off. Some 40 members of staff were required to keep patients safe and keep the hospital operating.” Miss Todd said there was also an economic loss due to the fact car parking had to be made free for a time and a cafe closed and there was also a significant clean-up and repair operation.
Photos show damage to a window at the RVI
(Image: Newcastle Chronicle)
The court heard five floors of four walkways had to be manned throughout the day to ensure the safety of patients and staff. Several police officers were also on site throughout the day.
Keep up to date with all the latest court news from the North East with our free newsletter
Hughes, 41, of no fixed address, who has 79 previous convictions, pleaded guilty to causing a public nuisance and criminal damage. He had been released on prison on licence at the time and has been recalled.
Jailing him for 16 months for the latest offending, Judge Penny Moreland told him: “You caused an extraordinary degree of harm. There was a serious impact on the families of children attending for treatment, including for cancer treatment.
“Your shouting terrified children attending for serious illnesses. Children had to leave their allocated hospital rooms overlooking the scene where you were committing this offending.
“Hundreds of other patients were impacted. They were, by definition, people who were unwell, many of them frail, elderly or disabled. Their anxiety increased because of the difficulties you caused.”
Liam O’Brien, defending, said: “The defendant has written a letter apologising for his actions. He formed the view his life was in danger after he stopped thinking rationally. He didn’t think of climbing on the roof in a hospital and causing chaos simply for the fun of it.
“It’s a sad case. He genuinely believed organised groups who were in cahoots with hospital staff intended to kill him, harvest his organs and harm his family.
“He is very sorry. It must have been terrifying, especially for the children in the nearby ward, to deal with this.
“The defendant is genuinely upset at the disruption he caused and apologises to everyone affected by his actions. This was a genuinely held but paranoid delusional belief that he was at risk.”
Join our Court and Crime WhatsApp community for all the latest court and crime news sent direct to your phone.
In this private group, you can expect the day’s top court and crime stories, including breaking news and live blogs
To join you need to have WhatsApp on your device. All you need to do is click on the link and press ‘join community’.
No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the ChronicleLive team.
We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, affiliate content, and adverts from us and our partners.
If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose ‘exit group’.
If you’re curious, you can read our privacy notice.
CLICK HERE TO JOIN