A FORMER psychiatric nurse at a Perth hospital has been suspended from practice for three months.
A Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) disciplinary panel found that Susan Sutherland had locked a schizophrenic patient in his room at Murray Royal Hospital in a fit of temper after he refused to take a bath.
Sutherland had repeatedly denied the charge against her.
The disciplinary panel heard that Sutherland, a senior nurse on the Glenelg Ward, was sacked by the hospital following the December 2010 incident.
Sutherland acted after the patient, named only as Patient A throughout the hearing, ran away from healthcare assistant Gary Boyle, who was trying to give him a bath.
Patient A ran out of the bathroom naked and ran along the corridor to the ward’s smoking room.
Mr Boyle told the panel that Sutherland came to assist him after seeing Patient A in the corridor naked.
He and Sutherland managed to persuade Patient A back into his room, where Patient A’s clothes were laid out on the bed for him.
The pair then left the patient to dress himself, but upon leaving the room Sutherland locked the door saying that she “was locking his door for five minutes to see what he would do”.
Mr Boyle said Sutherland then “stormed off down the corridor away from Patient A’s room”.
The panel heard that Sutherland passed Sharlene Adams, another healthcare assistant, and said: “I’ve locked Patient A in his room because I’m not putting up with his behaviour today.”
Mr Boyle unlocked Patient A’s room approximately 30 seconds later and found him dressing. He said he did not think the patient was aware he had been locked in.
The two healthcare assistants reported the incident to Margaret Cullen, nurse in charge at Glenelg Ward.
Sutherland was suspended from duty two days later and at an investigatory meeting in January 2011 denied locking Patient A in his room.
At this meeting she said that Patient A was causing no problems, just doing his usual ritualistic behaviours, adding that he was “plestering” about in the sitting room.
She said that she and Mr Boyle took him to his room, but denied locking the door.
She added that she had no memory of having any discussion with any member of staff about locking Patient A into his room.
A disciplinary meeting held three months later determined that Sutherland was to be summarily dismissed for gross misconduct.
In coming to their conclusion of Sutherland’s guilt, the NMC panel wrote: “The panel is satisfied, on the balance of probabilities, that from the evidence before it, Ms Sutherland did take a key and lock Patient A’s door.
“The panel accepts Mr Boyle directly witnessed Ms Sutherland locking Patient A’s door and that Mr Boyle subsequently, after a very brief period, unlocked the door.
“Further, the panel accepts Mrs Adams’ evidence that Ms Sutherland told her that she locked Patient A in his room.
“The panel has, therefore, found proved that on December 11 2010, Ms Sutherland did lock Patient A in his room.”
The panel deemed her fitness to practise was impaired by her misconduct and banned her from the wards for three months.
Explaining their ruling, they wrote: “The panel is of the view that a suspension order would enable Ms Sutherland further opportunity to engage with the NMC and to provide evidence of the steps that she has taken to address her conduct, insight and remorse.
“The panel is satisfied that a suspension order would sufficiently mark the seriousness of Ms Sutherland’s misconduct, maintain public confidence in the nursing and midwifery profession and serve to declare and uphold proper standards of conduct and performance,” they added.
ktopping@thecourier.co.uk