An East Lothian mental health nurse caused a patient to fall out of their bed onto the floor after forcefully removing their bed sheet while they were lying down.
Maria Carvalho has been given a suspension of three months and an interim suspension of 18 months following a thorough investigation by the Nursing and Midwifery Council.
While employed as a charge nurse at Drummohr Nursing Home in Musselburgh on January 25, 2020, Carvalho was working a night shift and went into a resident's room at 6am to carry out personal care, which included changing their bed and nightwear.
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The NMC heard how Carvalho removed the sheet from the corner of the bed and pulled the sheet from under the patient after failing to ensure the brakes on the bed were active.
The bed then rolled away and the patient rolled off the bed and into another staff member's arms, before falling onto the ground where he suffered a bump on the head.
Following the ordeal, Carvalho recorded in the care records that the patient was found on the floor in an attempt to conceal the true nature of the incident.
Carvalho, during an interview, admitted several charges including the fact she lied about finding the patient on the floor, recording incorrect information on the patient's notes and attempting to mislead colleagues.
After attempting to prove her innocence in relation to the charge of forcefully removing the patient's bed sheet, leading to him falling off the bed, it was eventually found proven by the panel.
After reaching the determination of the facts regarding the incident, the panel then moved on to deciding what form of punishment should be handed to Carvalho, who was dismissed from the home on February 17, 2020.
Carvalho's solicitor informed the panel that her client understands the seriousness of the charges and that her dishonesty stemmed from a misjudgement on a single incident and that there has been no further concealment since the incident.
She added that Carvalho's actions were the result of a "moment of madness" which she has reflected on in the past three years. Since the incident, Carvalho has been working within the care industry to "re-establish her practice and character."
Carvalho was spared a striking off order on the basis of regret and the fact the incident appeared to be a one-off. Balancing all of these factors the panel has concluded that a three-month suspension order with a review would be the appropriate and proportionate sanction in this case to mark the seriousness of the misconduct.
HC-One, who run Drummohr Nursing Home, said: "The safety and wellbeing of our Residents are our top priorities. As the Kind Care Company we expect all our colleagues to live our values, and to prioritise supporting Residents to live their best lives.
"We are grateful to our Colleagues for raising concerns about the behaviour of Ms Carvalho, at which point she was suspended.
"Following a full internal investigation, Ms Carvalho’s employment was terminated on 17th February 2020. We also referred her to the NMC so they could review her behaviour and fitness to practice, and we have supported their work throughout the process.
"We will always take action against anyone who falls short of our values and the high standards we expect, and we are pleased the NMC has taken action in this matter."
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