A Stratheden Hospital nurse who slammed a patient into a wall for saying he would punch him has been struck off.
Vincent Hogg encountered Patient A as he helped a wheelchair-bound patient into the garden for a cigarette at about 11pm on November 28 2012.
Patient A, who was known to suffer from delusions and organic personality disorder, threatened to punch Hogg as he walked past, the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) heard.
Hogg, a staff nurse on the Edenview Ward at Stratheden Hospital near Springfield, responded “you stay away from me then”, which the patient repeated back and Hogg again replied “you stay away from me then”.
Another nurse, who witnessed the confrontation, said she could sense something was about to happen.
Hogg then grabbed the patient’s T-shirt with both hands and shoved him into the wall.
He let go of the patient but lunged and grabbed him again before giving him a final violent push and storming off to the ward office and locking himself in.
The tribunal was told the patient was ‘taken aback’ by Hogg’s actions.
The witness said throughout the confrontation Hogg appeared red in the face, his voice was raised and he had an angry expression.
Panel chair woman Hilary Nightingale said: “The panel heard evidence that Patient A’s mood could vary from day to day and that he could be aggressive.
“It heard evidence that there were de-escalation techniques documented within Patient A’s notes and care plan and that often the best way to de-escalate the situation with Patient A was to ignore him or walk away.
“Mr Hogg chose to ignore the appropriate de-escalation techniques and, rather than ignore or walk away from Patient A, he decided to respond and provoke him.”
She added: “The panel has already rejected Mr Hogg’s account that Patient A had grabbed him first and found that he had pushed and restrained Patient A with force unnecessarily.
“It heard evidence that the incident had left Patient A feeling “shaken up” and it considered that the incident could have resulted in significant harm.
“The panel was in no doubt that Mr Hogg’s behaviour on November 28 2012 was not acceptable.”
She added Hogg’s actions “effectively amounted to physical assault on a patient”.
In an email to the NMC on February 4 this year, Hogg, who chose not to attend the tribunal, claimed his actions were justified.
“I will deny any wrongdoing with regards to the alleged assault and will say that the technique I used were those taught by the local trainers in the management of violence and aggression,” he said.
Hogg holds a previous conviction for assault dating back to 2007 when he pinned a partner against a wall. He had also previously been a violence and aggression adviser, the hearing was told.
Ms Nightingale said: “Mr Hogg’s misconduct amounted to an assault on a patient. Misconduct which could foreseeably result in harm to patients is particularly serious. Violence towards patients is totally unacceptable and fundamentally incompatible with remaining on the NMC register.
“Mr Hogg has demonstrated no remorse or issued any sort of apology. He has consistently denied any wrongdoing and demonstrated a persistent lack of insight.”
She added: “In light of the lack of insight, remediation or genuine remorse, the panel could not be satisfied that Hogg would act any differently in similar circumstances.”
Accordingly she announced the nurse should be struck from the register. Hogg will have 28 days to appeal the decision.
Hogg was cleared of a further allegation that he failed to inform staff on the ward of Patient A’s aggressive behaviour during the two-day tribunal.