Belfast Nurse Is Struck Off After Striking Severely Disabled Child

Main Category: Nursing / Midwifery
Also Included In: Litigation / Medical Malpractice
Article Date: 28 Jun 2007 - 1:00 PDT

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A nurse from Belfast has been struck off the register after being found guilty of striking a disabled child.

A panel of the Nursing and Midwifery Council's (NMC) Conduct and Competence Committee found Eavan Murphy, who at the time was working as an 'E' grade Learning Disabilities Nurse in Forest Lodge at Belvoir Park Hospital, Belfast, guilty of misconduct and will no longer allow her to work as a nurse.

The panel heard that she gave the child several short, sharp slaps. Based on the fact proven, they decided that Murphy's actions caused physical distress and had the potential to cause physical harm.

The 35-year-old also failed to report the incident involving the child and attempted to influence members of staff not to report the incident either.

Commenting on the panel's decision, Leila Harris, spokesperson for the NMC said:

"The allegations proven constitute a serious departure from standards as set out in the NMC code of professional conduct and involved one of the most vulnerable members of society, a physically and mentally disabled child. No evidence was presented that the registrant does not continue to pose a risk to patients and therefore the panel decided that in the interests of patient safety, the registrant should be struck off."

The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) is the UK regulator for two professions, nursing and midwifery. The primary purpose of the NMC is protection of the public. It does this through maintaining a register of all nurses, midwives and specialist community public health nurses eligible to practise within the UK and by setting standards for their education, training and conduct. Currently the number of registrants exceeds 686,000. The Nursing and Midwifery Order 2001 (The Order), sets out the NMC's role and responsibilities.

http://www.nmc-uk.org

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