A Glasgow nurse who put a cushion over the face of a "distressed" child as a restraint has been suspended.
The incident involving Paul Denis-Smith occurred at the Royal Hospital for Children in an inpatient unit for children under 12 with mental health problems.
The child's mother, who is a nurse, made a formal complaint to the health board following the incident on March 24, 2016, with the nurse being deemed "not safe" to practise.
Following an inquiry, the nurse was moved to a non-clinical role following a string of other errors. He had received training in managing aggressive patients just two days before the incident.
The nurse claimed he had been asked to put a cushion between the staff nurse involved in the restraint and the patient to prevent his colleagues from being “head-butted” and spat at.
However, an inquiry described his explanation as "implausible" and gave more weight to a powerful and balanced letter written by the child's mother, which was backed up by other staff.
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A nurse advisor for the children and adolescent’s mental health service (CAMHS) said that "under no circumstances" would it ever be appropriate to use a cushion in a situation like this due to the risk of suffocation.
It also emerged following the report from The Evening Times that the nurse was moved from Skye House at Stobhill Hospital, for patients aged 12-17, because there were concerns over his practice. It was felt that the move to the children's ward would be a "quieter environment" for him to complete extra training.
However, other concerns were flagged up to bosses including being unaware what drugs had been given to young patients and failing to tell a colleague he had gone on a break while in charge of the ward as well as recording inaccurate information in a patient's notes.
During assessments by managers, the nurse did not appear to know that a patient suffering from an epileptic seizure should be placed in the recovery position and was unable to explain what various drugs were used for.
He resigned from his job in January this year and has now been banned from working as a nurse for the next 12 months.
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The NMC said it was unable to impose a striking off order at this time because the nurse's practice was impaired "due to a lack of competence".
At the end of the period of suspension, another panel will review the sanction.
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