A nurse has been struck off from the profession after she binge-watched TV shows on Netflix at work. Susan Hughes streamed shows on the app "for hours on end" every night at work while she did paperwork in reception.
When she landed herself in hot water over her habit, the Netflix-loving nurse insisted that it "helped her concentrate". Hughes was also regularly caught by her colleagues sleeping for up to 90 minutes while she was on duty - even snoring as she put her feet up on the reception desk with her shoes off.
Now, the nurse of 13 years has been stripped of her licence following a Nursing and Midwifery Council [NMC] tribunal. The NMC tribunal was told Hughes started work at Charlotte House Care Home in Bebington, The Wirral, in November 2018.
But, just a year later, a number of issues about her behaviour emerged. In one night in December 2019, Hughes "bullied" a female patient, named only as Patient A, by forcing her into a wheelchair, "throwing" her onto a bed, shouting at her, and called her "stupid, childish and selfish".
She "snatched" a jug of water from Patient A "aggressively" and it spilt over the vulnerable woman, she "pulled" her walking frame away from her and dragged the crying woman by the arm despite her protesting "you are going to break my bones". And, when Patient A suffered a fall, Hughes didn't document it appropriately. The tribunal also heard colleagues noticed Hughes regularly slept and watched Netflix on the job.
One witness said: "Susan used to watch Netflix every night and would finish watching it at around 10.30pm after she had finished the medication. She would watch it for hours on end.
"She would watch it in the reception area on her phone with ear phones in. I know it was a series she was watching on Netflix but I am not sure what it was."
It was heard Hughes sometimes watched Netflix on her phone without headphones. Another witness said: "I saw Sue sleeping on duty, it was in the reception area and she would have her feet on the table and she was snoring."
A third witness added: "I saw Susan sleep on duty every shift I worked with her. She would be on reception with her feet on the desk.
"The reception area is open plan and the reception desk was in plain view. I could tell that Susan was asleep because she used to snore. She used to sleep for an hour and a half around 5.30am or 5.45am before starting the morning medication round at 7am."
Another said: "It looked like she was making herself comfortable."
Hughes denied sleeping and claimed she had an "eye condition which may make it appear that she is asleep when she is not". The NMC panel ruled her conduct was so serious she must be struck off.
The panel said: "The panel determined that Miss Hughes acted in a way that put Resident A at risk of physical harm, through pulling her arms and dragging her Zimmer frame. The panel further determined that any nurse who sleeps during a shift or watches Netflix while doing nursing paperwork and important documentation such as care plans, and thinks it appropriate to watch Netflix in those circumstances raises a fundamental question about her professionalism.
"Miss Hughes admitted to watching Netflix and tried to justify this by suggesting it was beneficial for her concentration. The panel determined that there is an almost total lack of evidence of remorse, reflection or any efforts to demonstrate that Miss Hughes has strengthened her nursing practice. Her actions were significant departures from the standards expected of a registered nurse."
