Hospital patient charged with aggravated assault on pregnant nurse

Halifax Regional Police have charged a 28-year-old woman in connection with an attack on a pregnant nurse that occurred at the East Coast Forensic Hospital last month.

The woman now faces charges of aggravated assault and threats.

The nurse was 33 weeks pregnant at the time of the assault. She was hospitalized after the attack.

Her union said the attack came just a week after it raised safety concerns involving panic alarms used at the hospital, which is a secure facility for mentally ill patients.

The nurse was carrying a panic alarm in her pocket at the time of the attack, but it was her screams that alerted other staff she was in trouble.