Blackpool nurse who didn't wear mask during visits to vulnerable patients admits misconduct
A Blackpool nurse has been sanctioned for misconduct after not wearing a mask while visiting vulnerable patients at home.
Ellie Louise Bennett is an adult nurse and was employed by Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust as a Band 5 Nurse in the Trust’s Community District Nursing team. Her role included end-of-life palliative care, injections, wound care, and catheter changes.
Miss Bennett carried out medical assessments and holistic assessments for new patients, administered medication within patients’ homes, and provided treatments where necessary. The types of patients Miss Bennett cared for were predominantly elderly patients that were housebound, frail, and vulnerable to risk, typically because the patients were undergoing chemotherapy or due to their age or other health conditions.
A Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) hearing took place earlier this month, and the panel heard that she was accused of:
- On one or more occasion between February 7, 2022 and March 21, 2022 did not wear a face mask when visiting patients when you were required to do so.
- When asked by her employer to provide a medical exemption letter or reasons for not wearing a face mask, she did not do so in a timely manner.
Miss Bennett has made a full admissions to the facts alleged in the charges, agreed that her actions amounted to misconduct, and that her fitness to practise is currently impaired by reason of that misconduct.
A report issued by the NMC states that Miss Bennett said the reason she didn’t wear a mask was due to health reasons and she believed that legally she only needed to self-exempt herself as she had been doing for the 12 months prior.” She did not inform anyone at the Trust that she objected to and/or had a medical exemption from wearing a face mask and therefore the the Trust was unable to undertake a risk assessment to determine whether it was suitable for Miss Bennett to complete home visits, and/or put additional or alternative measures in place.
The issue only came to light when Miss Bennett completed a patient home visit with a Senior Nurse, who noticed that Miss Bennett was not wearing a face mask for the duration of the visit. When challenged, Miss Bennett informed the Senior Nurse that she was exempt. The Senior Nurse reported this, and the Trust commissioned an investigation.
At an Occupational Health appointment on April 21, 2022, Miss Bennett refused to disclose the underlying medical condition that would cause her to be exempt from wearing a mask, therefore an evaluation and risk assessment could not be completed. In August 2022 Miss Bennett provided the Trust with a privately funded GP medical exemption letter. The letter, dated August 2, 2022, states that in the doctor’s clinical opinion Miss Bennett was exempt from COVID testing and wearing a mask based on the information provided by her.
Miss Bennett was subsequently dismissed from the Trust and January 4 2023, the Trust submitted a referral to the NMC raising concerns about Miss Bennett’s practice.
Panel decision
A report states: “Miss Bennett placed vulnerable patients at risk by conducting home visits to said patients in breach of Government guidelines and Trust policies. Miss Bennett’s actions were a serious departure from the standards expected of a registered nurse and constitute failings in fundamental nursing practice. These failings are likely to present a risk of harm to patients in the future if they are not addressed.”
It was agreed that Miss Bennett’s fitness to practise is currently impaired by reason of her misconduct.
She did submit a reflective piece, explaining her confusion over self-exemption and admitting the need for better communication. However, Miss Bennett has not worked as a nurse since her dismissal from the Trust in 2022 and the panel members said that therefore she has been unable to demonstrate strengthened practice in the workplace. Miss Bennett has also not provided evidence of any training undertaken in infection control to address the concerns.
Members said there was “no evidence of harmful deep-seated personality or attitudinal problems, nor evidence of general incompetence” and issued a nine-month Conditions of Practice Order, which means that should she take up nursing work, conditions could be put in place in relation to identifiable areas of Miss Bennett’s practice in need of assessment and retraining, for example in infection control.
They also asked her to complete an infection control competency course