A West Lothian mental health nurse has been struck off the register after shoving and dragging a patient. James Kerr, who was employed by NHS Lothian at the time of both incidents, was given the order by the Nursing and Midwifery Council after an in-depth hearing.
Kerr was also judged to have shouted at patients in an alarming way during the course of his employment. The outcome of the hearing declared that around August 20, 2017, Kerr pushed a vulnerable patient, causing them to "stumble," with various witnesses testifying against him.
Around March 2018, Kerr also dragged a patient by their wrists while they lay on the floor, with a witness saying that by doing this, it caused the patient's breasts to be revealed. Kerr said that he moved quickly to restrain the patient after they ran in the direction of a tea trolley. However, the panel decided that there were alternative methods available to control the situation.
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In light of the incident, Kerr was also judged to have not given a full account of what happened in the patient's progress/communication sheet dated March 3, 2018. The panel decided that Kerr's documentation in the patient's sheet was not a full account of what occurred, saying that as a registered nurse, he had a duty to make sure it was documented.
Kerr was also judged to have shouted words to the effect of "go away," and "I'm not your husband" towards the same patient that he was proved to have pushed.
The panel judged that in respect to pushing a patient, while there was no evidence that the patient was in immediate danger, pushing them was not behaviour that is expected of professional nurses and was "deplorable falling far below the expected standards of a registered nurse." They added that the forceful dragging of another patient was a serious departure from Kerr's responsibilities.
They added: "Nurses occupy a position of privilege and trust in society and are expected at all times to be professional and to maintain professional boundaries. Patients and their families must be able to trust nurses with their lives and the lives of their loved ones. They must make sure that their conduct at all times justifies both their patients’ and the public’s trust in the profession.
"The panel finds that patients were put at risk and were caused risk of physical and emotional harm as a result of your misconduct. Your misconduct had breached the fundamental tenets of the nursing profession and therefore brought its reputation into disrepute. It went on to consider whether there may be a risk of repetition and in doing so it assessed your current insight, remorse and remediation."
They concluded by saying that after careful consideration, a striking-off order was decided against Kerr, removing him off the care register. An interim suspension order of 18 months has been imposed to cover any possible appeal and the 28-day period in which the striking-off order takes to come into place.
Ruth Kelly, Deputy Director for Human Resources for NHS Lothian, said: “We are unable to comment on individual members of staff or former staff.”
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