A Manchester nurse was sacked after climbing into a patient’s bed and taking a snooze while on shift.
Kanyiso Moyo was working on a night shift at the University Hospital of South Manchester in March 2013 when he climbed into an empty patient bed, on his break, and fell asleep.
The investigating council ruled that Mr Moyo’s behaviour ‘had the potential to frighten patients’ and did scare a fellow nurse, who alerted other members of staff to his actions.
Mr Moyo was initially dismissed for his actions and an investigation into his conduct found that his fitness to practice was ‘impaired’ – so he was slapped with a list of ten sanctions.
It was deemed that Mr Moyo had a ’high self-belief’ that posed ‘a continuing risk to the public’.
Nancy Marsh, representative for the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), told Mr Moyo in a hearing that concluded last week: “Your actions.had in fact frightened a colleague and had drawn other staff members’ attention from their nursing duties, which could have put patients at unwarranted risk of harm.”
Mr Moyo admitted to the allegations.
He was told by the panel: “There is no justification for sleeping in a patient’s bed.
“The panel found that the potential for the patient or colleagues to become frightened by the sight of a stranger sleeping in a patient’s bed was high.”
The investigating council found that Mr Moyo’s behavior was ‘sufficiently serious’ to amount to misconduct.
The panel also proved that Mr Moyo did not appropriately identify himself as a nurse to the nurse in command, and he failed to inform his current employer that he was under investigation by the NMC.
The council heard that, on arriving for his shift at the hospital, Mr Moyo arrived late and refused to identify who he was.
A witness stated that Mr Moyo ‘just stared at her’ despite being asked four or five times for identification. The witness said even that after a brief exchange, the accused ‘just continued to stare at her’ and was ‘rude, abrupt and presumptuous’.
The council heard that, on arriving for his shift at the hospital, Mr Moyo arrived late and refused to identify who he was.
Mr Moyo was told: “The panel found that your high-self belief may have led to your actions…and that there is ongoing evidence of continuing attitude and high self-belief which, the panel considers, poses a continuing risk to the public.”
After hearing all the evidence, and taking into account Mr Moyo’s previous ‘unblemished’ record, the board ruled that his did not pose a ‘real risk of significant harm to the public’.
However the panel said: “There are concerns surrounding your general attitude and high self-belief”.
As a result, Mr Moyo must adhere to a number of conditions set by the NMC, in order to continue practising.
The conditions include, reporting any professional practice to the NMC, working with a mentor to improve ‘communication skills’ and ‘interactions with other healthcare professionals, and keeping a reflective diary during this time.
Image courtesy of Studio Tempura, with thanks.
