A man who stabbed a nurse in the neck as she took her work break at a hospital in Adelaide's northern suburbs has been ordered to serve three years' detention under a supervision order.
Trent Jason Miller was arrested in June 2019, and charged with causing serious harm to the Lyell McEwin Hospital nurse.
He was found not guilty of harm, due to mental incompetence, earlier this year.
Mr Miller will spend another 10 months in custody at a mental health facility, with his supervision term backdated to when he was taken into custody in June 2019.
The South Australian District Court today heard Mr Miller had been asked to leave the hospital on the night of the incident, after presenting for help with his foot and mental health.
"He was fidgety and became louder and told the nurse that he had not been compliant with medication prescribed for schizophrenia, and then been consuming metalamphetamines for the previous three days," Judge Paul Cuthbertson said in his sentencing submissions.
The court heard the victim was having a cigarette outside the hospital later in the evening when Mr Miller approached her to ask if she had a spare one and she declined.
"(He) then walked quickly towards (the nurse) and produced something in his right hand and placed a hand against her forehead, pushing her head with one hand, and stabbing her to the front of her neck under her chin with an unknown object, with the other hand," Judge Cuthbertson said.
"It could have been an extremely serious and dangerous event."
Judge Cuthbertson said the offence was a "serious one" and it was "surprising that the residual trauma was not more significant than attested to by the victim".
"She exhibits a rather robust and common-sense approach," he said.
The court earlier this month heard the victim was "depressed when it happened," and has been left with a "two-centimetre scar on her chin."
Her victim impact statement noted she returned to work within three months, and that she said she had recovered from her PTSD.
Judge Cuthbertson said he had to take into account Mr Miller's "not insignificant criminal history."
"Which has the effect that I will not reduce the limiting term based on any previous good character," he said.
