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Nurse who kicked patient in the head receives 12-month suspension

Fitness to practise panel says nurse Kadiatu Jalloh, who had been slapped and punched by the patient, had a previously unblemished record and expressed remorse
Brass name plate at entrance to NMC

Fitness to practise panel says nurse Kadiatu Jalloh, who had been slapped and punched by the patient, had a previously unblemished record and expressed remorse

Brass name plate at entrance to NMC
Picture: Barney Newman

A nurse who kicked a patient in the head while he was being restrained has been suspended for 12 months.

Mental health nurse Kadiatu Jalloh was working at the Cygnet Hospital Blackheath, a psychiatric hospital in London, when a patient was restrained by colleagues on the evening of 11 March, 2020.

A Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) fitness to practise hearing reviewed CCTV images of the incident showing Ms Jalloh thrusting a chair at the patient’s head and then kicking them in the face in a ‘forceful and intentional way.’

A witness said in statement: ‘I was checking with the patient how he was being held and asking him how he was. The patient was not struggling, he was just being held on the floor.

‘I remember seeing Kadiatu at the door area, she wasn’t doing much. She then just moved in and kicked the patient on the head, while he was lying on the floor being restrained.’

The patient accepted that he had punched and slapped the nurse earlier that night

Ms Jalloh was suspended by Cygnet Health Care and later dismissed following an investigation by the provider. The investigation found the patient had ‘slapped and punched’ Ms Jalloh prior to the incident but found her behaviour to be gross misconduct.

The patient later wrote a letter with his account of the incident and claimed the nurse had kicked him in the face three times. The patient also accepted that he had punched and slapped the nurse earlier that night.

The panel also heard that during Ms Jalloh's suspension she had applied for a job at Homerton University Hospital in London but had failed to mention Cygnet as her current employer.

Later, when working for nursing agency Day Webster Group, she did not inform the agency she was subject to practice restrictions by the NMC and was to be supervised at all times. Records showed she had tried to forward the agency an email of her restriction notice, but had typed the address incorrectly.

The NMC panel decided that a striking off order would be disproportionate

Despite finding that Ms Jalloh had put the patient at risk of serious harm and later acted dishonestly, the NMC panel decided that a striking off order would be disproportionate. The panel said that instead of striking off, a suspension order would allow ‘an otherwise experienced nurse with a previously unblemished record to practice’.

The hearing report stated: ‘You have expressed remorse for the incident, have undertaken relevant training and have had no repetition in the more than two years of work since the incident, as shown by numerous testimonials from colleagues and line managers.’

Ms Jalloh has since undertaken cognitive behavioural therapy. She said in a statement: ‘I feel I am in a much better position now to deal with patients if I found myself in a similar situation.’


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