Nurse who assaulted patient at nursing home in Livingston is struck off

By ALEXANDER LAWRIE
Published on 20/08/2012 00:25

A NURSE who assaulted a vulnerable patient after telling a junior medic that “you have to be rough with them” has been banned from the profession.

Rose Benamaisia was working at the Peacock Nursing Home, in Livingston, West Lothian, when she struck the elderly resident on the arm. Benamaisia also failed to hand out the proper medication to Resident A, and told another dementia suffering resident that “you are getting on my nerves, I could slap you”.

Benamaisia failed to appear at a disciplinary hearing of the Nursing and Midwifery Council, held in London last week.

Care assistant Stacey Kilgour told the hearing she and Benamaisia were attending to an elderly male patient when he began to lash out as they tried to put an incontinence pad on him.

After striking Benamaisia, the nurse retaliated by hitting him on the left arm. Ms Kilgour said “she did so with some force” and the resident looked “shocked”.

Ms Kilgour also admitted to being “appalled” when she overheard Benamaisia telling a junior colleague that “sometimes you have to be rough with them” when speaking about the nursing home’s residents.

Benamaisia was found guilty of all seven misconduct charges and was struck from the nursing register following the hearing.

All the charges relate to incidents which took place on 30 September, 2007, and 27 August, 2008.

The NMC panel noted Benamaisia had not engaged with the disciplinary process since May 2011, and had failed to show any remorse or insight into her 
behaviour.