A man charged with the attempted murder of a nurse at the Royal Oldham Hospital has appeared in court.
Roman Haq, 37, was charged with attempted murder and possession of a knife after the incident in the hospital's acute care unit on Saturday night.
During a five-minute hearing at Manchester Magistrates' Court, Huq, from Royton, Oldham, was remanded in custody and appeared at Manchester Minshull Street court on February 18.
The defendant appeared in court wearing a gray sweatshirt and was not asked to answer. He spoke only to confirm his personal information and gave his name as Mohammed Roman Haq.
The health worker, named in court as Achanma Cherian, is said to have suffered “life-changing” injuries and remains in hospital.
She was allegedly attacked with scissors around 11:30pm, during what is usually the hospital's busiest working day.
Greg Kemp, defending Haq, did not apply for bail.
District Judge Hamilton addressed Mr Haq and said the matter could only be dealt with in the Crown Court, telling him: “Between now and then you will be in custody.”
Heather Caudle, head of nursing at the Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust, which oversees the Royal Oldham Hospital, said staff at the hospital were “incredibly shocked and saddened” by the incident.
“Our focus is on supporting the colleagues and their families involved,” she said. “Our thoughts are also with the distressing and frightening experience this incident must have had for our colleagues and patients who were at the scene at the time.”
She said all services at the hospital remained open and staff would continue to assist police with their investigation.
Oldham District Police Chief Matt Walker said on Monday: “Our thoughts are with the nurse as she continues to treat her injuries and we continue to support her, her family and colleagues at this difficult time. It's a priority,” he said.
“We continue to work closely with our NHS colleagues to support those affected by this incident.”
Last year's NHS staff survey revealed that healthcare workers face high levels of physical violence, with 13.7% of staff having experienced at least one physical assault in the previous year and ambulance staff It rose to 27.6%.
