Trainee nurse wins tribunal case after patient's pregnancy claim
Posted 11 November 2024 - 16:30
A trainee nurse suspended for two and a half years after a patient claimed she was pregnant with his child has won an employment tribunal for unfair dismissal
A trainee nurse who was suspended for two and a half years after a patient falsely claimed she was pregnant with his child has won an employment tribunal for unfair dismissal.
Jessica Thorpe took action against Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust after ‘living through years of torture’ and sued her former employer for unfair constructive dismissal, breach of contract and unlawful deduction of wages. All of her claims were upheld by an employment tribunal in Newcastle.
Ms Thorpe, who had been employed at the trust from 2016 as a healthcare assistant and later as a nursing assistant, was training as a nurse through an apprenticeship programme at the University of Sunderland at the time of the patient’s allegation in April 2020.
She was suspended by the trust while an investigation was carried out into whether there had been ‘an inappropriate relationship’. The man, referred to as Patient X, was an inpatient on a secure mental health ward after bring referred from a prison facility.
Trust panel found no evidence for patient’s allegation but failed to send her written confirmation of its decision
Ms Thorpe was told there would be a disciplinary investigation the following month but that did not happen until 15 months later, in July 2021. During that period Patient X died in December 2020 following a rare reaction to medication.
A disciplinary panel at the trust found that there was no conclusive evidence to uphold the patient’s allegation and Ms Thorpe was told verbally that she would be returning to work and that the suspension would be lifted. However, she never received any written communication to confirm the outcome of the hearing.
The trust later said it could not conclude the disciplinary process because of external investigations, including an inquest into the death of Patient X.
However tribunal Judge Loy disagreed, stating in his judgement: ‘In these circumstances, the tribunal has concluded that there was no reasonable and proper cause for the claimant’s continued suspension and/or being placed in double jeopardy after 21 July 2021.’
It was not until October 2022, some 30 months after her initial suspension, that Ms Thorpe received communication about returning to work.
Tribunal says she set up her social media accounts as a hobby while she was suspended
In November 2022 Ms Thorpe resigned, citing underpayment of money owed to her, her grievance being ignored, failures by the trust to dispel ‘ongoing gossip about the alleged relationship’ and the emotional and financial impact she felt.
Instead, the trust sought to claim at the tribunal that Ms Thorpe had resigned to pursue a new career as a social media influencer after her Instagram and Youtube pages called Slice Of Jess had gained 50,000 followers during the period in which she was suspended.
The tribunal rejected this and accepted that Ms Thorpe had set up the social media accounts as a hobby while she was suspended.
In a statement posted on social media Ms Thorpe said: ‘All I will say for now is that these last four and a half years have been torture for me, and I did not deserve a second of it. I'm just glad that the end of the road is near.’
The trust’s executive director of workforce and organisational development Lynne Shaw said: ‘The trust is disappointed with the outcome of the tribunal. However, we respect the findings of the tribunal and will look at what lessons can be learned.’
In other news