A mental health nurse has been cautioned for knocking on the door of a paranoid patient – and then hiding. At a disciplinary hearing, Douglas Masson admitted the offence at the Royal Edinburgh Hospital.
The Nursing and Midwifery Council committee found him guilty of misconduct after deciding his behaviour fell “significantly short of the standards expected”. But it allowed the veteran nurse to continue working after hearing it was a “one-off incident”.
The hearing was told the patient – Patient A – was admitted to the hospital in November 2017 with mental health conditions including paranoia. In September 2019, Masson knocked on their door then hid.
The tribunal heard evidence from several witnesses, including other nurses, Patient A and one of Patient A’s relatives. But it dismissed a second charge that on another occasion the nurse had said to the patient: “You won’t be getting out of here, you are delusional.”
The committee heard Masson accepted his actions were “not the best thing to do” and that he had apologised to Patient A. His representative said he was a “highly experienced” nurse with “30-plus years of unblemished nursing practice” and the “incident was a one-off”.
The panel said: “You should have known Patient A was vulnerable. You were familiar with Patient A and his particular care needs.” But it concluded that a suspension or striking-off order would be a disproportionate punishment and handed Masson a caution order for two years.
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