A HEALTH worker accused of stabbing herself outside an Ayr hospital is due to face a psychiatric probe before returning to court after she was charged with the “faked” knife attack.

Donna Maxwell, 46, pleaded not guilty to a charge of wasting police time by lying to officers about what happened.

She was injured in the grounds of Ailsa Hospital.

Prosecutors claim that “on a number of occasions” she informed police officers, that she “had been assaulted and struck on the body with a knife” between November 22 and November 27, 2018, but prosecutors allege she had not.

The single charge against her states that she lied to the officers while at her Irvine home, at Ayr Hospital, and elsewhere.

The charge adds her actions caused cops “did cause officers of the police service of Scotland, maintained at the public expense, for the public benefit, to devote their time and services in the investigation of said representation made by

[her] which [she] knew to be false, and did temporarily deprive the public of their services and render the lieges liable to suspicion and accusation of assault to injury”.

When her case was called at Ayr Sheriff Court on May 16, Maxwell’s defence solicitor said the court previously intimated Maxwell was to be pre-examined by a Crown-appointed psychiatrist, and one had now been identified.

The procurator fiscal depute told the court there would be an “absolute minimum of four weeks” to wait on the examination, adding: ”He did comment there was a large number."

Sheriff Shirley Foran adjourned Ms Maxwell’s first diet pre-trial hearing until a later date this year – with her attendance excused at this hearing.

A massive police investigation was launched which saw Ailsa, the neighbouring Ayr Hospital, and nearby Queen Margaret Academy, placed on lock down on November 22, 2018and no one were allowed to enter or leave, for around three hours.

Police Scotland’s Major Inquiry Team launched a full-scale investigation, which saw teams of uniformed cops being drafted in to patrol the hospital grounds, fearing a knife thug was still on the lose.

Maxwell spent two days in hospital recovering from a serious knife wound to her abdomen, but was arrested some three weeks later and charged by police.