Mental health treatment like a 'kick in the head'

There's an old saying I've heard: "mental health treatment's like a kick in the head". One mental health nurse took the saying literally. Jongo Vandi, who worked at Broadmoor Hospital, actually kicked a patient in the head.

Let's assume the patient was being 'difficult' at the time. It is Broadmoor after all. So, you'd expect the quality of the staff to be such that they go unphased under provocation, to be of the calibre that they know how to diffuse a volatile situation, that they know through their extensive training how to 'talk someone down', and so on and so on. But no, Mr Vandi kicked the patient in the head.

Alot of the patients in Broadmoor are violent. Sounds like Mr Vandi's just as bad.

Scraping the barrel when it comes to personnel

Another mental health nurse is behind bars after it was found he'd accessed child pornography sites on a computer he'd been using at the Charlton Centre, a residential home for the elderly in Batley, West Yorkshire.

The Yorkshire Post headline was "Mental health nurse had 40,000 indecent images of children". The story goes on to reveal the mental health nurse, Ivor Foster, had checked himself in to a psychiatric hospital called Fieldhead Hospital prior to the stuff being found on the computer he'd been using at the care home. He'd gone to Fieldhead because he was depressed. That means a depressed nurse was looking after people in a residential home, people who suffer from Alzheimer's diseases or dementia.

I regularly read all this stuff about psychiatric patients and their vulnerabilities, and then I read about the quality of the people looking after them. If this is the quality of personnel looking after people with mental illness, and Mr Foster isn't the only blot on the mental health nurse landscape, there must be a barrel that doesn't have a bottom after being scraped long and hard.

Foster was jailed for 14 months after he admitted 21 offences of possessing or making indecent images.

He can't be a mental health nurse because he's in jail

Well, well, another psychiatric nurse who stole money from a patient.

Only last month, Elizabeth Fayers was caught going down the local casino for a few spins of the reels with a patient's cash.

Now Adrian Mauger, who's been languishing in prison for the past few months for stealing £7,000 from a patient, has been dumped out of the nursing profession after it was deemed his actions "impaired his fitness to practice."

The politically correct language makes me cringe. Instead of saying "impaired his fitness to practice", it should say, "Mr Mauger has been convicted of a criminal offence and can't be a nurse any more because he's banged up in jail."

Nursing doesn't include inappropriate sexual relationships

Another mental health nurse whose dirty laundry should be aired in public is Drew Shaw-Dickenson. Once again, the nurse in question has been up to no good with a mental patient. The amorous nurse got pulled up in front of his bosses at the Nursing and Midwifery Council. Here's his rap sheet taken from http://www.nmc-uk.org/:

That you, whilst employed by Portsmouth City NHS Teaching Primary Care Trust in the capacity of Staff Nurse on the Fairoak Unit at St. James’ Hospital in Portsmouth, Hampshire,
1 on various dates in the approximate period of October 2005 to December 2005, conducted an inappropriate sexual relationship with a patient, namely Patient A, whilst she was an inpatient on Fairoak Unit,
2 on various dates in the approximate period of December 2005 to 1 January 2006, conducted an inappropriate sexual relationship with Patient A after she had been discharged from Fairoak Unit but whilst she remained a patient of the Trust,
3 on various dates in the period of 4 November 2005 to 13 January 2006, sent inappropriate text messages to Patient A, including but not limited to,
i) on 15.16 hours on 5 November 2005, a text message that read, ‘I
feel so passionate about you Patient A. I want you for keeps. X’,
ii) at 23.01 hours on 5 November 2005, a text message that read,
‘GOD! you are making me feel soo in love. :) cannot stop thinking about you. I really want to know you and trust you. we will be so wonderful for each other I can sense it. and it feels great. X’,
iii) at 21.57 hours on 7 November 2005, a text message that read,
‘how wonderful! your smell is all around my flat and on the pillows. wish you were here with me flat and on the pillows. wish you were here with me now. X’,
iv) at 12.17 hours on 15 November 2005, a text message that read,
‘can’t sleep. I am thinking about you continually. resorted to playing now and smelling you on the pillow. X’,
v) at 22.02 hours on 19 November 2005, a text message that read, ‘I
love you Patient A you are for me. Always and forever. X’,
And that, in the light of the above, your fitness to practise is impaired by reason of
your misconduct.

He's now out of work too.

A rap sheet as long as your arm

Not all of the mental health nurses who get up to no good find their stories in the newspapers. But all of the sordid details are normally posted on the Nursing and Midwifery Council web site, http://www.nmc-uk.org/ under FTP hearings and decisions.

I heard about and was directed to the case of registered mental health nurse Steven Laing. Bearing in mind Mr Laing was dealing with vulnerable patients, here's part of his rap sheet from the NMC:

Charges read as follows:
That you, between September 2007 and April 2008 inclusive, whilst employed as a staff nurse within the Pitkerro Care Centre;
1. On one or more unknown dates used inappropriate moving and handling techniques to move:
(a) Resident A;
(b) Resident B.
2. In or around February 2008, attended to Resident C inappropriately after she had fallen, in that you:
(a) Kneeled beside her and placed your chest close to/or on to Resident C’s chest;
(b) Your actions described in 2.(a) were of a sexual nature;
(c) Said words to the effect of, "Can I get a cuddle?";
(d) Your actions described in 2.(c) were of a sexual nature;
(e) Said words to the effect of "Can I get my kiss?";
(f) Your actions described in 2.(e) were of a sexual nature;
(g) Did not check Resident C for injuries until a few minutes had passed.
3. On one or more unknown dates spoke inappropriately about sex to:
(a) Care assistant A;
(b) Care assistant B;
4. On one or more unknown dates spoke inappropriately about sex as described in 3. above, in front of or within earshot of one or more residents within the Care Centre.
5. Inappropriately touched Care Assistant A;
(a) On one or more unknown dates, in that you touched her bottom;
(b) Your actions described in 5.(a) were of a sexual nature;
(c) In or around March 2008, in that you placed your hand down the back of her tunic;
(d) Your actions described in 5.(c) were of a sexual nature.
6. Inappropriately touched Care Assistant B;
(a) In or around September 2007, in that you pulled a badge on Care Assistant B’s tunic collar and attempted to look down her tunic at her breasts;
(b) Your actions described in 6.(a) were of a sexual nature;
(c) On an unknown date, in that you touched care assistant B’s bottom;
(d) Your actions described in 6.(c) were of a sexual nature;
7. On 3rd April 2008 acted inappropriately whilst in the bedroom of Resident B, in that you;
(a) Lifted Resident B using an inappropriate moving and handling technique, in that you bear-hugged her and transferred her from a chair to her bed by lifting her;
(b) Held your crotch;
(c) Your actions described in 7.(b) were of a sexual nature;
(d) Stated that you wore shorts instead of pants so that you could be free, or words to that effect;
(e) Your actions described in 7.(d) were of a sexual nature;
(f) Sniffed the knickers of Resident B;
(g) Your actions described in 7.(f) were of a sexual nature;
(h) Stated that you did not care if Resident B’s knickers were clean or dirty because you would still sniff them, or words to that effect;
(i) Your actions described in 7.(h) were of a sexual nature;
(j) Placed Resident B’s knickers on your head;
(k) Your actions described in 7.(j) were of a sexual nature;
(l) Placed your hand on Care Assistant B’s head and stated that she was the right height;
(m) Your actions described in 7.(l) were of a sexual nature;
(n) Pulled Care Assistant B’s head towards your crotch;
(o) Your actions described in 7.(n) were of a sexual nature;
(p) Thrust your crotch towards Care Assistant B’s face;
(q) Your actions described in 7.(p) were of a sexual nature.

Now that's one big sordid and disgraceful rap sheet. He is now by the way, out of work. His bosses figured he wasn't fit to practise. I second that.

Nurse 'stole from patients to fund casino trip'

A mental health nurse has been up before her bosses after it was alleged she went out on the razz using money that belonged to patients. The Northampton Chronicle and Echo reported on the hearing that took place in London where it was heard that Elizabeth Fayers apparently went out gambling, using money that belonged to patients from Skiddaw Walk Unit, an Adult Mental Health Residential Rehabilitation Unit in Northampton.

If this is true, it's hard to understand what was going through the nurse's mind. I guess if you're up the creek without a paddle, it doesn't matter who you use and abuse. If it's true, I don't think Ms Fayers will be looking after any more patients in the near future.