nursing disciplinary hearing-attend or not?

[choomy]

Let me set the scene as briefly as I can

I am a mental health nurse, have been practising for several years. I have just been informed that I am required to attend a disciplinary hearing with a nursing agency I was working for until earlier this year when I was suspended.

 

In brief, I was working on a ward and was assigned to constant in eyesight observations for a young male patient due to violence and absconding risks. At the time due to staff breaks and another nurse arriving late for the shift I was the only nurse on the unit.

 

The other rmn arrived and I decided to give him a very quick handover in the nursing office, but was able to keep the patient within eyesight at all times through the office windows and he was giving no cause for concern. Unfortunately and incredibly the patient managed to abscond because a) my attention had been briefly distracted from him while handing over to the new nurse and b) during the brief time I was distracted the patient followed a member of staff who was leaving the ward through THREE locked doors without detection by that staff.

 

The alarm was raised immediately but he managed to get away. The patient was brought back to the ward the next day by police unharmed and without any incident occurring and I continued to work on the ward. However I was then informed by the agency that the ward had made a complaint about me regarding the incident and I was prevented from working any shifts while an investigation took place.

 

It has taken 6 months to hear that I now face a disciplinary hearing. The issue I now have is, following 5 months of being unemployed (the nursing agency job was my only one at the time) I have recently started a new nursing job with a private company. So should I bother to attend the disciplinary hearing?

 

It is with an employer (the agency) whom I no longer work for and have no intention of working for again. I have a new permanent job that is going ok. I am seriously thinking of telling the agency that I have no intention of working again for them and to consider myself as resigning from them and therefore will not be attending any disciplinary hearing with them.

 

I have been through incredible stress and hardship over the last 6 months and really dont want to start going through more after having found a new job and trying to put things behind me. The only other factor is of course the fact that my employment and practice as a nurse is governed by the nmc (nursing and midwifery council) and the agency would still have the option of taking the matter to them regardless of whether or not I attend the disciplinary hearing.

 

And they, of course determine who is fit to practise as a nurse, so effectively control my whole nursing career...And yet I am sure they deal with many far more serious complaints about nurses' practice than mine, so hopefully would not be so condemning as to strike me off? surely...?

What to do? Attend the hearing or not?

Grateful for all thoughts and advice on this complex issue...

[papasmurf1cx]

Hi Choomy..... welcome to the site.

 

The only observation I would say on these facts are that the supervision that did NOT occur by management ensuring proper numbers on the ward is a powerful mitigation to any professional misdeed you may or may not have done.

 

I don't think it is a good tactic to ignore the agency in these circumstances. The member of staff who colluded in allowing the patient to escape surely has more culpability than you do. I would fight the allegation as at least if they report it to the NMC you can show consistency of defence.

 

Finally......... have you looked at the sentences at NMC....... whatever you have done is unlikely to lead to suspension !!!

 

Best of Luck oh and btw please TALK to the patients chemical coshes are so wrong when many patients need talking therapies. (Sorry on my hobby horse!!)

[debsue]

My advice is that you attend. If what you say is true then you need to defend yourself, especially ifthey refer it to the NMC, although on what little information you have provided, this would be unlikely. Are you in a union? get advice from them You will also need advice as to whether you tell your current employer about this, if it goes further they need to know, Best wishes

Edited August 15, 2011 by debsue

[Kitten1]

If you were the only nurse on shift, who 'assigned' you the obs? As an rmn myself, I personally would only be doing lower level obs if I was the only nurse on shift and maybe covering for the hca if they needed the loo etc in that situation.

 

I would also want to know why the investigation has taken so long to get to this stage. 6 months is rediculous in my view.

 

I would definately be going to the disciplinary and, as far as I'm aware, this doesn't sound like a matter which would really need nmc involvement. You have to have done something really bad for them to be involved. I've had cases of service users managing to seriously self harm whilst on arms length obs.

 

This is just my opinion x

[choomy]

thank you guys, for your advice so far

having thought about things and seeking advice from various quarters however, I decided not to attend the hearing as it is:

-with an employer who I no longer work for and have no intention of working for again, hence disciplinary action is a fairly redundant exercise

-to be held at the nearest agency office, which is however still a considerable distance from where I live and not at all accessible

 

and frankly after 6 ludicrous months of waiting around in which I have managed to rebuild my life I just cant be bothered with it anymore. As far as I can tell the worst that could happen now is that the matter is referred to the nmc, and to be perfectly honest I would be a lot happier attending a hearing with them as at least the matter will be dealt with professionally and not by an evidently totally incompetent and uncaring joke of a nursing agency...

I have informed the agency by email that I effectovely no longer work for them, have not done so for 6 months and that if I am still registered with them I tender my resignation immediately. They have responded to say that they accept my resignation but must still proceed with the disciplinary hearing in my absence and will send me a letter of the outcome

So I will just wait and see, but am quietly confident that after 6 months the whole thing is likely to come to nothing, as things often do...

Will keep u posted...