A man who made murder threats to a staff member at Queen Margaret Hospital in Dunfermline has been sent to jail for nine months.
Steven Millar also made more than 40 phone calls to a nurse at the hospital during her shift there months later.
In another incident, the 49-year-old left a series of menacing voice messages for a social worker over a five-day period.
Millar appeared at Dunfermline Sheriff Court for sentencing after earlier admitting three charges of behaving in a threatening or abusive manner.
He also previously pled guilty to sending text messages about his partner to her mother which were grossly offensive or of an indecent, obscene or menacing character.
Hospital abuse
Prosecutor Brogan Moffat told the court Millar has a history of mental health issues and has been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia.
She said staff at Queen Margaret Hospital are required to take incoming calls to a mental health duty line.
On November 26 2021 Millar contacted the line a number of times and was abusive.
At around 10am a male staff member answered a call from Millar, who stated: “I will come there and murder you all once I have recovered.”
The fiscal depute said that on April 15 2022 a staff nurse at the hospital, during the course of her shift, took in excess of 40 calls from Millar.
He referred to staff as “murderers and b***ards”.
The court heard that between August 14 and 18 last year, Millar left three voice messages on a female social worker’s mobile phone.
In one, he called her explicit names and a coward and in another claimed he had information she was responsible for murdering babies.
A further message said she and her department “better apologise” or he would cause them “serious f***ing trouble”.
Threats to partner
On January 26 this year, Millar sent text messages to his then-partner’s mother making threats of violence and derogatory remarks towards her daughter.
The fiscal depute said one of the messages stated: “I hope your filthy stinking daughter is dead”.
Another message said: “She steals from me again and I will murder her”.
Due to concern for her daughter’s welfare, the woman contacted her accommodation and they confirmed they had received similar messages from Millar.
Millar, of Backmarch Road, Rosyth, also admitted breaching a bail condition not to contact staff at Queen Margaret Hospital in July last year.
Jailed despite diagnosis
Defence lawyer Iain Tweedie highlighted his client’s schizophrenia diagnosis and said in 2021 and 2022 his client’s medication was not effective in dealing with it.
He said further medication helped but acknowledged there were subsequent incidents.
Mr Tweedie said Millar is suspicious of health professionals and medication, the relationship with his partner was fraught with difficulties and under pressure, he seems to “lash out with his tongue” against people best placed to help him.
Sheriff Susan Duff told Millar: “I accept you suffer from mental health difficulties but I will not have health and social care professionals subjected to this abuse from you and I consider custody the only option”.
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