North Ayrshire nurse suspended after vulnerable woman held down and injected with Covid vaccine

A nurse has been suspended after a vulnerable woman was held down and injected with the Covid vaccine against her will.

Janette Donnelly, a service manager at Millport Care Centre in North Ayrshire, was found by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) to have restrained a resident and later covered up what happened.

The incident took place on February 19, 2021, when an NHS nurse visited the home to give vaccines.

The woman, known as service user A, had learning disabilities and bipolar disorder. She had already refused the vaccine twice earlier that day.

The NMC heard that Donnelly and two colleagues held the woman on the floor while the jab was given through her clothing and into her thigh. Witnesses said the resident was screaming and struggling during the restraint.

Donnelly later told the vaccinator not to report how the injection had been given. She then failed to report the incident herself.

The panel said the event was “chaotic, distressing and horrific.”

It found that Donnelly had abused her position of trust, caused emotional harm, and acted dishonestly to hide what went wrong.

The NMC said her fitness to practise is impaired and imposed an interim suspension for nine months.

Donnelly told the hearing she was remorseful and had apologised to the woman, her family, and colleagues.

A decision report read: “The public expect nurses to prioritise patient safety and to create a safe environment for patients and colleagues. You abused your position of power and trust and brought the profession into dispute.

“In the panel’s view, your actions and omissions were compounded by the sustained dishonesty to conceal what had gone wrong, prioritising your own interests above the safety and wellbeing of service user A.

“The panel considered that a member of the public, appraised of these facts, would be shocked and public confidence in the profession and its regulator would be damaged if a finding of impairment was not made.

“The panel therefore found that a finding of impairment on public interest grounds is also required.”