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Award-winning nurse who was dismissed from trust dies from burn injuries

Amin Abdullah died outside Kensington Palace in London on February 9

A nurse who was dismissed by his employer in December has died after being found ablaze by police officers.

Amin Abdullah.  Picture credit: Dave Marriott

Amin Abdullah, pictured, was discovered outside Kensington Palace in London in the early hours of February 9. Police are not treating his death as suspicious.

He had been dismissed from his job as a nurse at Charing Cross Hospital on December 21 after writing a letter, signed by himself and 16 other members of staff on a ward, which supported a colleague who was the subject of a complaint by a patient.

Nursing Standard understands that Mr Abdullah was found to have committed a ‘very serious breach’ of the professional code of conduct by Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, which runs the hospital.

Mr Abdullah, who was appealing his dismissal, became depressed after losing his job, and had been receiving treatment as an inpatient at St Charles Hospital in west London.

He is understood to have left the hospital at about 8.30pm on February 8. Staff called the police just after midnight because he had not returned.

Emergency services were called to an area outside the grounds of Kensington Palace at about 3am on February 9. Mr Abdullah was treated at the scene but subsequently died as a result of his injuries.

His partner, Terry Skitmore, told the Daily Mirror that he believed Mr Abdullah had been sacked for trying to stick up for a colleague. Mr Skitmore claimed that staff feel they are hounded by the NHS during its disciplinary procedures.

He told the Mirror: ‘There needs to be a campaign for nurses treated like this. It’s a travesty. I don’t want this brushed under the carpet.’

Mr Abdullah, who completed his nursing degree at Buckinghamshire New University, was given the Hannah Evans Award for Excellence by the League of Charing Cross Hospital Nurses when he graduated in 2014.

An Imperial College trust spokesperson said: ‘We are saddened to hear of Mr Abdullah’s death and will engage fully with any investigations into the incident.’

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