Sick and injured children had to wait for care as a drunken thug pretended to be seriously ill in a strange practical joke played on senior medics and police officers.
Benjamin Wright’s symptoms were so “bizarre” hospital staff put him to the top of the queue for assessment in a busy accident and emergency department.
He played dead in the rear of a police car after being detained for refusing to pay a taxi driver and threatening him with a brutal assault.
The 35-year-old slumped in his seat and refused to respond to officers, forcing them to make a call for paramedics.
They were so concerned by Wright’s “mystery condition” they placed him in the recovery position and then rushed him to hospital.
As PRI medics struggled to find out what was wrong he suddenly sat up to laugh hysterically in the faces of those who had rushed to his aid.
Chuckling at his deceit, he brayed at sickened staff: “I fooled you all. I fooled the police and fooled the paramedics and I got you too.”
Perth Sheriff Court heard the cost of diverting an ambulance to provide him with care for his made-up ailment had been a minimum of £250.
In addition, paramedics and a senior staff nurse had dedicated their time and expertise to his care, depriving more worthy patients of attention.
Depute Fiscal Nicola Gillespie said the accident and emergency department had been busy with patients.
“Due to the apparent seriousness of his condition, Mr Wright effectively jumped the queue,” she said.
“The emergency room was busy and there were a number of patients waiting to be seen – among them a number of children.”
Wright, of Viewfield Place in Perth, admitted uttering threats of violence and punching the window of a taxi in the city’s Woodside Crescent on March 14 this year.
He also admitted depriving the public of the services of a paramedic and preventing a senior staff nurse from providing care to others by pretending to require immediate medical attention.
Solicitor Billy Somerville said his client now understood the consequences of his actions and asked for the court to consider an alternative to prison.
Sheriff William Wood said the offence was “so serious I must consider a custodial sentence” but eventually let him off with a community disposal.
“You cannot waste people’s time like this,” he said.
“Alcohol clearly had its part to play but you used public resources to the detriment of others. That is unforgivable.
“If you do not address your problems with drink then it is very clear that you are going to end up in prison.”
He made Wright subject to a community payback order requiring him to carry out 270 hours of unpaid work and remain under the supervision of social workers for the next 18 months.
