By Doncaster mental health nurse struck off after ‘flour fight’ with patient
A mental health worker in Doncaster has been struck off for having a “flour fight” with a hospital patient.
Miss Becky Jones was employed as an occupational therapist (OT) at Cheswold Park Hospital in Doncaster, a forensic mental health hospital, between September 2016 and January 2018.
She was struck off on August 27 this year after a misconduct panel found that she had behaved “inappropriately” and posed a risk of harm to her patients.
The panel was heard from two patients, recorded as Patient A and Patient B, who had made complaints about Miss Jones’ conduct.
The first complaint about Miss Jones was made by Patient B in January 2017 causing an investigation to be launched. However, when Patient B withdrew their complaint the investigation was dropped.
One concern raised was that Miss Jones had used Patient A’s bank card on several occasions to withdraw money “on his behalf” and had also made use of his PIN in doing so.
The panel stated that: “She said that she had known that it was wrong to take out money on behalf of a patient, but that she ‘felt like I was trapped … I didn’t realise how dangerous he was and how manipulative he was'”.
“She said that after the first time she had withdrawn money, Patient A told her that if she didn’t do it again, ‘he could get CCTV and he could get bank statements … and that I’d lose my job'”.
It was accepted that Miss Jones had used Patient A’s bank card on three occasions to withdraw cash for him which the panel said showed an impairment of Miss Jones’ fitness to practice as an OT.
During a therapeutic session with another member of staff in February 2017, Patient B disclosed that he knew “highly personal and sensitive information” about Miss Jones and her personal life.
Witnesses told the panel that the sharing of information with a patient in this manner was a “breach of professional boundaries” and the panel accepted that.
Miss Jones’ conduct with Patient B caused further alarm as a month before a team member had walked past the kitchen and found both Miss Jones and Patient B “covered in flour from head to toe”, having had a “flour fight”.
Miss Jones was originally suspended from her role at Cheswold Park Hospital, however, during a review hearing in February of this year – which she failed to attend – the panel heard that she had made no effort to address her behaviour.
Miss Jones’s failure to act on the suggestions of the panel in terms of personal development meant that she had not “provided evidence of the development of insight or adequate remediation to show that she would not cause a risk of harm to members of the public if she were now permitted to return to unrestricted practice.”
She was officially struck off on August 27 this year.
