A GOUROCK dentist was cleared ‘without hesitation’ of assaulting and injuring a practice nurse — after telling a court that he struck her to prevent her from being electrocuted.

Ian Galt said he ‘whacked’ the woman because she was dangerously flicking a master switch on his surgery chair after the device broke down with its alarm blaring.

Greenock Sheriff Court heard how the nurse — who was left with a mark on her wrist — called in police after phoning her husband, and later contacted a compensation lawyer.

But Mr Galt, 65 — who was led away from his Orangefield practice in handcuffs following the incident on April 15 last year — was found not guilty of assault and of behaving in a threatening or abusive manner.

Sheriff Derek Hamilton declared that he was ‘not impressed’ with the nurse's evidence.

The court heard how the dental chair began to bleep loudly as Mr Galt finished treating a patient because a canister used to collect waste had reached its capacity and required to be replaced.

His nurse — whom the court heard had previously undergone surgery to repair her hearing — said that she tried to switch the chair off in order to hear what Mr Galt was saying to her.

She said that he was ‘angry’ when he struck her but when asked by his solicitor if his actions were merely to prevent her from flicking the switch, she replied: “You could say.”

Mr Gault told the court that he asked the nurse to get a fresh canister, known as an amalgam separator, from a cupboard.

He said that the bleeping was identical to sound which occurs when a large lorry reverses and that he later measured the noise at 110 decibels.

Mr Gault said that he saw his employee switching the master switch off and on and off and on to stop the sound of the chair — something that the manufacturer states must never be done.

He said: “There was a smell of plastic beginning to burn. I believed that her actions were causing the burning smell.

“I was told by the engineer who installed it that you run the risk of electrocution and blowing the circuit board.

“I told her to stop what she was doing but she didn’t respond.

“I reached over the chair and whacked her wrist to get her attention and to avert a real problem.

“I thought that the chair could catch fire or that she could be electrocuted.

“I struck her wrist to stop her flicking the switch on and off.”

Asked how the nurse was as a result of the strike to her wrist, Mr Galt replied: “She was shocked, but not half as shocked as she would have been if I hadn’t stopped her.”

Mr Galt, who is no longer involved with the Orangefield practice after retiring last November, told the court how he went to a lunchtime meeting and returned to see a police car parked outside his practice.

He said: “I thought that something serious had happened but when I saw her run down the steps and away I realised she’d obviously made a complaint.”

Mr Galt was led away from the surgery in handcuffs and taken to Greenock police office for questioning.

He said: “I didn’t want a solicitor with me because I thought that this was a simple matter that could be cleared up with a simple explanation of what had happened.”

The total cost of the repair to the dental chair was £923.

The nurse earlier told the court that she had raised a case with a tribunal, initially stating that she was not sure why, then declaring that the motive was to get financial compensation.

Mr Galt’s lawyer put it to the woman: “This has been blown up into something it wasn’t.”

Mrs McLeod replied: “No it hasn’t.”

Practice receptionist Shona McGill, 40, told the court that both Mr Gault and the nurse appeared to be ‘annoyed’ and that the nurse was ‘upset’ when she exited the treatment room.

Ms McGill said: “She showed me her arm. There was a mark on it.

“She said that Ian had pushed or slapped her arm out of the way.”

Ms McGill added: “I didn’t think that it should be reported to the police but that she should take a photo and speak to Ian about it to try to resolve it.

“I thought that it could have been resolved within the boundaries of the practice.”

In ruling on the case, Sheriff Hamilton said: “I am not impressed by the evidence of the complainer.”

The sheriff told Mr Gault: “I have no hesitation in finding you not guilty of both charges.”