A healthcare professional was fired after binge-watching TV shows on Netflix while she was supposed to be working.
Nurse Susan Hughes ended up streaming shows on the app 'for hours on end' while she did the paperwork in the reception area during overnight shifts.
She found herself completely addicted, insisting it 'helped her concentrate'. When she landed herself in hot water over the habit, she brushed it off.
Hughes was also regularly caught by her colleagues sleeping for up to 90 minutes while she was on duty - even snoring as she put her feet up on the reception desk with her shoes off.
Now, the nurse of 13 years has been stripped of her licence following a Nursing and Midwifery Council [NMC] tribunal.
The tribunal heard how Hughes started work at Charlotte House Care Home in The Wirral, in November 2018, but only a year later a number of issues emerged regarding her behaviour.
It was recalled that in one night in December 2019, Hughes 'bullied' a female patient - named as 'Patient A' - by forcing her into a wheelchair, 'throwing' her onto a bed, shouting at her, and called her 'stupid, childish and selfish'.
It was then said she 'snatched' a jug of water from Patient A 'aggressively' and it spilled over the vulnerable woman, before she 'pulled' her zimmer frame away from her.
Despite pleas of help from Patient A, who said she was 'going to break her bones', Hughes dragged the crying woman by the arm.
When Patient A suffered a fall, Hughes didn't document it appropriately.
Revealing Hughes' Netflix addition, the tribunal heard how colleagues noticed she regularly took the time to watch the shows on the job - and regularly slept through them too.
Witnesses came forward with their testimonies at the tribunal, with one saying: "Susan used to watch Netflix every night and would finish watching it at around 10.30pm after she had finished the medication.
"She would watch it for hours on end. She would watch it in the reception area on her phone with ear phones in.
"I know it was a series she was watching on Netflix but I am not sure what it was."
It was also heard how Hughes sometimes watched Netflix on her phone without headphones, with one witness adding: "It looked like she was making herself comfortable."
Another co-worker of hers said: "I saw Sue sleeping on duty, it was in the reception area and she would have her feet on the table and she was snoring."
While a third added: "I saw Susan sleep on duty every shift I worked with her. She would be on reception with her feet on the desk.
"The reception area is open plan and the reception desk was in plain view. I could tell that Susan was asleep because she used to snore.
"She used to sleep for an hour and a half around 5.30am or 5.45am before starting the morning medication round at 7am."
Despite these claims, Hughes denied sleeping and asserted that she has an 'eye condition which may make it appear that she is asleep when she is not'.
However, the NMC panel ruled her conduct was so serious she must be struck off, and said: "The panel determined that Miss Hughes acted in a way that put Resident A at risk of physical harm, through pulling her arms and dragging her zimmer frame.
"The panel further determined that any nurse who sleeps during a shift or watches Netflix while doing nursing paperwork and important documentation such as care plans, and thinks it appropriate to watch Netflix in those circumstances raises a fundamental question about her professionalism."
They also concluded: "Miss Hughes admitted to watching Netflix and tried to justify this by suggesting it was beneficial for her concentration.
"The panel determined that there is an almost total lack of evidence of remorse, reflection or any efforts to demonstrate that Miss Hughes has strengthened her nursing practice.
"Her actions were significant departures from the standards expected of a registered nurse."
