A Halifax provincial court judge has ordered a psychiatric assessment for a man accused of a violent attack in the emergency department of the province's largest hospital in January.

Nicholas Robert Coulombe, 32, made a brief appearance in court Thursday morning. He's facing nine charges, including attempted murder and aggravated assault, in relation to a Jan. 29 incident in which a man stabbed two staff members at the Halifax Infirmary. One of them was critically injured.

Legal aid lawyer Colin …