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Nurse suspended after fight in which he kicked and punched patient

Nurse spared from being struck off after showing insight and remorse following incident in which he retaliated after being punched
Brass plaque outside NMC building

Nurse spared from being struck off after showing insight and remorse following incident in which he retaliated after being punched

Brass plaque outside NMC building
Picture: Barney Newman

A mental health nurse has been suspended for 12 months after fighting with a patient who was playing ‘pornographic sounds’ on his phone and blocking a door.

Nurse Onyenuche Amalime was found to have punched and kicked the patient and failed to follow safe restraining techniques by a Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) fitness to practise (FtP) panel.

Mr Amalime was working at the Campbell Centre, an acute inpatient mental health unit in Milton Keynes, in June 2021 when he heard inappropriate sounds coming from the patient’s phone.

The patient, referred to as Patient A, had already been asked by staff to stop playing the sounds. He demanded that staff charge his speaker and then deliberately blocked the door to the ward with his legs, according to the FtP report.

Fight was stopped by other members of staff, who took patient to a seclusion room

Mr Amalime pulled on the patient’s arms in an attempt to move him from the door. This was ruled an ‘improper’ restraint technique by the FtP panel.

The patient then punched Mr Amalime in the face and he retaliated by hitting the back of the patient’s head, punching him in the ribs and kicking him.

The fight was stopped by other members of staff, who took the patient to a seclusion room.

The FtP panel found Mr Amalime’s actions had escalated the situation and that his behaviour was ‘excessive, violent and unjustified’.

‘The panel was satisfied that Mr Amalime had exposed a vulnerable patient in his care to a risk of significant harm,’ the case report added.

FtP panel says fight was not unprovoked but mental health nurses are trained to deal with volatile situations

While the panel acknowledged the fight was not unprovoked, they said mental health nurses were trained to deal with volatile situations and Mr Amalime should have ‘acted in accordance with the requirements of his role’.

Mr Amalime apologised to the patient, the NMC and his employer in a reflective statement provided to the FtP panel.

He said he had not meant to hurt anyone and had since undertaken various training, including cognitive behavioural therapy sessions, to help him manage his reactions.

‘I have no doubt I made a mistake... I saw myself in an involuntary reflex action, punching and kicking Patient A but with no particular motive or plan to hit him so as to hurt him,’ he said.

Mr Amalime was described as ‘gentle’ by fellow staff members. A senior charge nurse said the reaction was ‘very out of character’ and described him as calm and quiet.

The FtP panel also noted that safe restraint techniques to move the patient away from the door could not have been followed on the day as there were not enough staff trained to carry out the procedure, including Mr Amalime.

The panel concluded that because Mr Amalime had shown ‘substantial insight, remorse and remediation’ he should be suspended for 12 months rather than being struck off.

Mr Amalime has 28 days from the date of the FtP hearing to appeal the decision.


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