A woman who hit a paramedic on the hand with a claw hammer has been jailed for five years and 10 months.

Patricia Gosling, 55, had dialled 999 complaining of chest pains and attacked 37-year-old Emma Cornford after the paramedic examined her at her sheltered housing flat in Roundwood Road, Ipswich, and gave her the all-clear, Ipswich Crown Court heard.

Miss Cornford advised Gosling, who has a history of mental health problems, to see her GP but Gosling had become upset and shouted “Doctors don’t care about me”.

She had then reached behind a chair for a claw hammer which she used to try to hit Miss Cornford on the head.

The claws of the hammer had gone into the palm of Miss Cornford’s hand as she tried to shield her head and she was struck again with the hammer on the back as she ran away down a hallway.

Gosling denied wounding Miss Cornford with intent to cause her grievous bodily harm on November 26 but was found guilty by a jury after a trial last month.

Sentence was adjourned until yesterday for a pre-sentence report.

Jailing Gosling, Judge John Devaux said that between March 2011 and April 2012 there had been 144 physical assaults and 217 instances of verbal abuse and aggressive behaviour towards employees of the East of England Ambulance Service.

He said that as a result of Gosling’s actions Miss Cornford had undergone surgery on her hand and had been left with scarring and nerve damage.

Christopher Paxton, for Gosling ,said she had no previous convictions and had expressed remorse for what she had done.

He said Gosling had suffered from mental health issues for many years and was a full-time carer for her husband.

He said the attack on Miss Cornford was impulsive and was over in a matter of seconds.

After Gosling’s trial Miss Cornford said she had been left traumatised by the attack and had feared she would be killed.

She said the incident has had a life-changing effect on her and she still did not know whether she would ever be fit to return to work after 10 years as a paramedic.