Nurse suspended for ‘dragging care home resident off chair’

A “frustrated” nurse who shouted at a care home resident while “pulling” them off their chair has been given a six-month suspension order. Violet Horsford’s behaviour, which is said to have been triggered by residents changing seats, was deemed to be “inappropriate and completely unacceptable”.

The incident took place during the nurse’s night shift at Jubilee Court in Coseley on 27 October 2018. A hearing of the Nursing and Midwifery Council’s fitness to practice committee was told that resident A, who has Huntingon’s disease – a condition that shuts down certain parts of the brain. from working properly over time – she had found Resident B sitting in her ‘assigned’ seat which made her ‘angry’.

Resident B moved to another seat at Resident C’s request, however, Ms Horsford was allegedly “furious” at the change of seats and shouted at Resident A to move. Resident A claimed she was grabbed by the wrists and “pulled” onto a couch and “pushed” onto her, which was supported by resident C.

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Ms Horsford – who was absent from last month’s hearing – previously said she grabbed Resident A’s wrists “partially to steady her” and “steered” her towards the sofa, however the panel accepted the residents’ account. It said Ms Horsford should have known that resident A had “a fixation” with the chair because of his condition and that it was included in their chair care plan at the time.

The company said that as resident A had no mobility issues it was “unnecessary” for Ms Horsford to have attended to her while transferring her from the chair – and even if assistance was required she “used inappropriate methods that did not respect and uphold the dignity” of the resident. It said he “presented a risk of harm and caused real harm in terms of emotional and psychological distress”, which amounted to misconduct.

Resident C said the nurse appeared to be “absolutely fumigated” with Resident A as she shouted: “Get off your chair” and asked him “What the hell are you doing?”, allegations which were proven by the commission. . The panel found the nurse said these things “out of frustration”, but said that while it was “unprofessional”, it did not amount to misconduct.

Another allegation found to be true by the jury was that Ms Horsford did not make a record of the matter in an incident report. A report from the hearing said she “dismissed it as unnecessary and only recorded the incident in the daily records/care notes for resident A and the handover notes”. The panel considered that proper record keeping was “one of the fundamental principles of the nursing profession” and found that this amounted to misconduct.

Although the commission said it was a “single case of misconduct” and there was no evidence of “deeply damaging personality or attitude problems” or “evidence of repeated behavior since the incident”, it felt it had breached “standards fundamentals of professional conduct and behavior that a registered nurse is expected to maintain”. The panel gave Ms Horsford a six-month suspension order, which would give her “an opportunity to demonstrate sufficient evidence of her misconduct and that her fitness to practice is no longer impaired”.

The panel said a review of the order will take place before the suspension period ends, which may result in its being revoked, confirmed or replaced by another order. Ms Horford, who “did not fully engage in these proceedings”, had 28 days to appeal the ruling before the suspension came into effect.

Background information contained in the commission’s decision document said Ms Horsford claimed Resident A punched her while the incident was unfolding and also used inappropriate language towards her. It said the home, run by Select Healthcare Group, carried out an initial investigation, which included a fact-finding meeting with Ms Horsford on November 1, 2018. Meetings with other staff took place in late October and early November of that year.

The incident with Resident A was also reported to the police, but the case was closed without further action due to insufficient evidence. Ms Horsford resigned from the home on 20 November 2018, with a disciplinary hearing held on 29 November 2018 finding she would have been dismissed for serious misconduct had she not resigned – a decision she has appealed , but it was maintained on January 11. 2019. BirminghamLive attempted to contact the home for comment.