An Edinburgh mental health nurse has been given a precautionary order for playing ‘happy’ on the doorstep of a paranoid patient.
Douglas Masson, a nurse at Royal Edinburgh Hospital, was accused of knocking on a patient’s door and then hiding in September 2019.
The service user, nicknamed Patient A to protect his anonymity, suffered from various mental health conditions, including paranoia, and had been admitted to hospital in November 2017.
The mental health nurse, who has practiced for 30 years, was found to have put the patient at risk of “psychological and/or emotional harm” by doing so.
Masson was also accused of telling the user “you won’t get out of here, you’re delusional” before the court hearing on October 2, 2019.
However, this charge was never proven as the patient’s evidence was found to be “vague and inconsistent”.
The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) was told that Mr Masson acknowledged that it was “not his best thing to do”, that it was misplaced and that it was a “matter of bad judgement”.
Mr. Masson also apologized to Patient A and received training after the incident.
The NMCs said: “The panel felt that you should have known that Patient A was vulnerable. You were an experienced mental health nurse and were familiar with Patient A and her particular care needs.
“The panel was of the opinion that, although it was a one-time event, his actions were a serious error of judgment and fell far below the standard of clinical care that Patient A should have received and therefore constituted misconduct.
She continued: “Nurses hold a position of privilege and trust in society and are expected to be professional at all times and maintain professional boundaries.
“Patients and their families must be able to trust nurses with their lives and the lives of their loved ones.
“To justify that trust, nurses must ensure that their conduct at all times justifies both their patients’ and the public’s trust in the profession.
Since Masson was found to have shown “genuine remorse” for his actions, which he could not explain, the panel gave him a two-year warning order.
Under this, any employer will be notified that your fitness to practice has been affected. The notice will be removed after the two-year period, but will remain on file with the NMC.
NHS Lothian has been contacted for comment.
