A WOMAN attacked two health staff and threatened to slash their throats after barricading herself in a room at Foss Park Hospital, York Magistrates' Court heard.

Aimee-Louise Bentley-Taffinder, 20, refused to leave when she was told she no longer needed treatment at the York psychiatric unit, said Sarah Tyrer, prosecuting.

She barricaded herself into the room where she had been an in-patient and refused to let staff in.

For hours, staff tried to persuade her to open the door before eventually getting into the room. Two female staff members, a senior clinical nurse and a healthcare assistant took one arm each and tried to escort her out of the building by the nearest exit, said Ms Tyrer.

Bentley-Taffinder threatened to slash their throats and put their heads through a window as she struggled to get away from them.

She punched one of the staff twice in the torso, twice to the arm and kicked her and also punched the second staff member.

They managed to get her through the exit, and close it behind her. She kicked and punched the door before eventually leaving the scene.

Bentley-Taffinder, of a village close to Boroughbridge, pleaded guilty to two charges of assault and three charges of having a knife in public on a separate occasion and was convicted in her absence of taking a child from its lawful guardian.

District judge Adrian Lower told her: “Clearly you are a person who doesn’t enjoy the best mental health. The sooner you receive help, the better for you and better for everyone else in terms of the risk you pose of committing offences in the community.”

He made her subject to a 12-month community order with 12 months’ mental health treatment and 30 days’ rehabilitative activities and ordered her to pay a £114 statutory surcharge.

Ms Tyrer said police warned Bentley-Taffinder to keep away from a 14-year-old girl for the girl’s protection. But just after midnight nearly a year before the hospital incident, police found the two together on The Stray, Harrogate, after both had been reported as missing. They took the girl back to her home.

The nurse said she had worked at Foss Park Hospital for four years and known Bentley-Taffinder for some years. Whilst she had been caring for her, Bentley-Taffinder had not been diagnosed with a mental health illness.

The assaults in Foss Park Hospital took place on June 5, 2023.

Ten days later, Bentley-Taffinder phoned police at 7.50pm to tell them she had a Stanley type knife on her and was self-harming. Police officers found her on a bench in Valley Gardens, Harrogate, with the knife, which they took off her. She had two other craft knives in her rucksack.

For Bentley-Taffinder, Harry Bayman said she “didn’t really agree” with the decision she should be discharged. She regretted that she had caused pain for the two staff members.

“They were two people she did respect,” he said.

Bentley-Taffinder did want to work with professionals in tackling her mental health problems.

“She feels frustrated and feels her problems are not addressed as well as they could be,” Mr Bayman said.