A nurse at Woodland View Hospital in Irvine used force against a “terrified” mental health patient in order to get them to a treatment room.
Patrick Gribben then “forcefully attempted” to administer medication to the vulnerable female patient, known only as ‘Patient A’.
During the incident, Gribben also forcefully attempted to make the patient, who was detained in the unit under the Mental Health Act, drink water.
Nursing regulator, the Nursing and Midwifery Council, (NMC), found three charges against Gribben proven and said his fitness to practise was “impaired” by reason of “misconduct.”
Following a hearing by the NMC’s Fitness to Practise Committee, Gribben, who did not attend, was struck off and an 18-month interim suspension order was placed against his registration.
In a 35-page report the NMC said Gribben worked as a Band 5 nurse in the Acute Admission Assessment Ward. The incident unfolded on June 8, 2021 when Gribben was the night shift charge nurse of the ward.
The panel heard evidence from two witnesses.
One witness said: “I heard Pat saying – right, come on (Patient A), he didn’t give her a chance, was in a rage and started pulling at her left arm. We encourage patients with a gentle help along, hand under the patient’s elbow but this was not a gentle come along. Patient A never got a chance and the next thing Patient A was on the ground. Pat had pulled her so aggressively that Patient A was thrown to the ground.
“When Patient A went down it pulled him slightly down but he didn’t fall to the ground and when he got back up she came with him. She has been twisted round and landed on her buttocks, she screamed out. I was at the side of the nursing station and went to help Patient A.”
The witness continued: “I felt so embarrassed that a staff member had behaved in this way. He never gave her the time, he forced her to walk to the Treatment Room – through pushing and pulling her and not speaking any encouragement to her. Patient A’s facial expression was empty but she continued to scream. He never communicated what he was doing. We encourage everyone to go into the Treatment Room for their medication.”
Another witness said the patient looked “absolutely terrified.”
It was revealed that were “several tablets” Patient A was “required to take” but, according to a witness statement, Gribben gave “no opportunity” to encourage them to take that medication. Patient A was “resisting” taking the medication so Gribben “pushed each tablet” into the patient’s mouth “aggressively with his thumb” to bypass the pursed lips of the patient.
Before the incident drew to a close, the patient continued to remain tight-lipped so Gribben used a water cup to try to get Patient A to swallow the tablets. However, the water was “dribbling down Patient A’s front.” Patient A was thereafter escorted into the lounge area – and the incident was over.
One direct eyewitness to the incident, who was unable to attend the NMC hearing, submitted a written statement, which read: “I have given five statements regarding this case and feel that I did everything I could to protect the lady involved. I gave all the information I could to yourselves (NMC), the NHS and the Police.
“This terrible incident caused me a great amount of stress and upset at the time and is still causing me to be anxious and upset with the ongoing investigation.”
In their report the NMC said: “The panel considered that Mr Gribben’s conduct in using force on more than one occasion was extremely serious and unprofessional. It further noted that Mr Gribben’s actions in using force to get Patient A to the Treatment Room was likely to have caused emotional and psychological distress as Patient A was scared and screamed.
“The panel considered that Mr Gribben was an experienced mental health nurse and his actions in forcing medication into Patient A’s mouth and forcing her to drink water were unnecessary, dismissive of her care needs and unkind. The panel decided that it would be seen as deplorable by other members of the profession and members of the public.”
And in issuing a striking off order the NMC added: “Whilst the charges relate to one single incident, there was a sequence of events involving Mr Gribben grabbing and pushing Patient A, forcing the medication into her mouth and then forcing the water into her mouth, causing emotional distress.
“Consequently, having considered all the charges individually and as a whole, the panel determined that Mr Gribben’s actions did fall significantly short of the conduct and standards expected of a nurse and amounted to serious professional misconduct.”
In a written reflective piece, written by Gribben, he said he was “deeply disturbed” by the account of events and “did not recognise” himself or the descriptions of his practice.
He added: “I am profoundly sorry for the distress that this event caused not only to my colleagues, but most importantly to my patient.”
Gribben was also made subject to criminal proceedings in the wake of the incident, which resulted in an absolute discharge.
Woodland View is a 206-bedroom integrated mental health facility and community hospital which brings together a range of outpatient and inpatient facilities.
NHS Ayrshire & Arran has been contacted for a response.