STV NewsAn Aberdeenshire nurse has been suspended after being found to have attempted to force-feed a dementia patient and swear at another.
Alexander Birnie was working on a dementia ward as a registered nurse with NHS Grampian when he was found to have grabbed a patient’s head and said “turn your f******g head” on May 30, 2018.
At the same location on June 1, 2018, Birnie was found to have held another patient’s head, loudly said “open your mouth” and attempted to force-feed them medication with a dessert spoon.
Birnie was also found, on an unspecified date in 2018, to have told a colleague to “f*** off”.
A Nursing and Midwifery Council fitness to practice committee heard evidence for the charges.
A witness told the panel that they had never seen “anything more unacceptable” than when Birnie attempted to force-feed a patient with a dessert spoon.
The panel concluded that the nurse was “capable of remediation and did not amount to a course of conduct that was incompatible with remaining on the register”.
They decided to issue a temporary suspension order to allow Birnie to appeal the judgement, this will be replaced by a six-month suspension order if no appeal is made after 28 days.
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