Misconduct
Behaviour which falls short of what can reasonably be expected of a nurse or midwife
The code: Standards of conduct, performance and ethics for nurses and midwives (the code) is the foundation of good nursing and midwifery practice. It is a key tool in safeguarding the health and wellbeing of the public.
If nurses and midwives don’t follow the code, they may be guilty of misconduct and therefore might not be fit to practise.
Examples of misconduct
The most common examples of misconduct include:
- physical or verbal abuse of colleagues or members of the public
- theft
- significant failure to deliver adequate care
- significant failure to keep proper records.
For specific examples of cases that we investigate, take a look at the hearings section of our website where you will find information on the latest cases, including details of allegations and the decisions made by the committees.
Case study: Misconduct
One of the most common cases of misconduct is physical or verbal abuse of patients.
Charges
A nurse was struck off the register for this behaviour when they were found to be treating residents in an aggressive and inappropriate manner while working at a care home. Charges included knowingly feeding two residents with dementia contrary to their requirements, pushing a resident forcefully, shouting aggressively at residents and colleagues, and grabbing residents’ hands hard enough to cause the skin to redden.
Hearings
The Fitness to Practise panel ruled that this behaviour was unacceptable, falling far short of the behaviour expected from someone in the nursing profession. In order to maintain the good reputation of the profession and public confidence in the NMC, the panel agreed to strike them off the register. |
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Created date :
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05/03/2010
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Modified date :
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05/03/2010