A Dundee nurse has been charged with misconduct by regulators after he allegedly refused a poorly patient admission to a psychiatric unit.
Albert McGowan, 61, is facing two Nursing and Midwifery Council charges and could be struck off as a result of the alleged misconduct.
He is accused of refusing a patient’s request to attend the Carseview Centre at Ninewells.
However, Mr McGowan denies any wrongdoing and has slammed the charges as “nonsense”.
The patient had reportedly slurred her speech during a phone conversation with Mr McGowan. He allegedly did not ask, or record asking, appropriate safety questions, like how she was feeling or what her frame of mind was like.
Mr McGowan is further charged with refusing her request to attend the centre and/or failing to obtain evidence as to her condition to support his actions.
He also allegedly failed to follow up with a home visit to the patient’s address after she could not be reached the following day.
Mr McGowan is also accused of, two days later, discouraging a colleague from carrying out a home visit, telling her that the patient would ring if she needed help.
Mr McGowan, a Band 6 staff nurse in the adult mental health response team, is charged with providing inadequate care.
However, Mr McGowan said: “I feel I was a scapegoat. We were under a lot of pressure they changed my job from being a community nurse to being an assessment nurse.
“It was really busy and we had told management several times that we needed more staff because we were under a lot of pressure.
“Because we were under pressure, we were making decisions on who was coming in and who wasn’t, not the doctors. I was really stressed out.”
Mr McGowan is now retired but was suspended at the time of the alleged misconduct. His case will call at a hearing in Edinburgh on May 20.