JOSE: POOR LIFT TECHNIQUE DID NOT AMOUNT TO MISCONDUCT
A misconduct case against a care home nurse charged with using an ‘inappropriate’ method to lift a woman from her wheelchair has today (Fri) been dismissed.
Bibby Jose, 33, was found guilty of using the improper ‘underarm’ technique on September 21, 2008, but the Nursing and Midwifery Council ruled that she could safely return to work.
A separate allegation of punching an 85-year-old dementia sufferer in retaliation for being bitten was earlier thrown out after a panel ruled there was insufficient evidence to support the charge.
Jose was said to have punched the woman while lifting her from her wheelchair to her bed at the 50-bed Deanwood Manor Care Home in Wigan, Lancs, leaving a bruise on her arm.
Care assistant Lisa Wilson had told the hearing that she had seen Jose, now living in Ilford, Essex, shout at the woman, referred to as Patient A, before hitting her – making a ‘noise like a thud’.
On the night in question, Jose had been the only qualified nurse on duty at the privately-run home, which is owned by Nottingham-based Mimosa Healthcare Holdings Ltd.
Panel chairman Rachel O’Connell told the nurse the lifting technique had breached professional guidelines but that she was ‘highly unlikely’ to repeat the error.
Ruling that Jose is fit to practise, she said: ‘The panel is in no doubt that Ms Jose’s actions amount to misconduct.
‘However, we considered whether the misconduct had been remedied and concluded that it had.’
She added that Jose had since undergone manual handling training, and that her new employer, another care home, reported she was ‘handling clients in a safe and appropriate manner.’
‘The panel is satisfied that the registrant poses no risk to the public,’ she said.
‘She has been working satisfactorily as a staff nurse in a nursing home since March 2009, and all the evidence suggests there are no concerns.’
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