Newcastle nurse watched true crime videos on night shift

Sandra Young was inputting patient data into a computer on October 12 and 13, 2022 when she was spotted by colleagues tucking into a Rustlers burger and watching videos on her phone.

The Newcastle based nurse, who was employed by Nuffield Health, then resigned on October 14 before an investigation could take place and now works at Amazon.

A Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) hearing on January 13 and 14 has now heard that Young also failed to take observations from a someone who collapsed, and completed inaccurate patient records on the night in question.

A witness statement reads: “Sandra was already logged into TrakCare and inputting information for other patients at the time.

“She wasn’t on her break but was sitting and eating a Rustlers burger with a packet of crisps while watching true crime videos on her mobile phone.”

The hearing also heard on October 13, following a handover, Young failed to carry out observations on a patient, who “clearly warranted immediate and thorough monitoring” after collapsing.

When confronted on this, Young admitted she “didn’t know why” she didn’t carry out the checks.

In relation to the same patient, the panel also found that Young falsely claimed their case had been escalated to see a doctor (RMO).

An entry on the system stated ‘RMO aware’ – yet multiple witnesses said they were not told about the condition of the patient, their deterioration and no doctor was contacted.

When confronted about the error, the panel heard that young “shrugged”.

A witness said: “(Young) then apologised and verbally admitted she didn’t know why she hadn’t taken observations nor lied about telling the RMO.

“She apologised and shrugged, “I don’t know why”.”

The actions were deemed to be “dishonest” by the panel, who said Young “sought to mislead others”.

Concluding the hearing, Young was handed an 12 month suspension order and an 18 month interim suspension order, and the panel was told she has “no desire” to get back into nursing.

The panel concluded: “Young’s misconduct was confined to a single incident and she had been practicing as a nurse for many years.

“The panel was therefore satisfied that there are no deep-seated attitudinal issues. Rather, her dishonest conduct was a one-off incident in the context of a long career at a time when she was experiencing very difficult personal circumstances.

“There has been no evidence of repetition of this behaviour since the incident and the panel noted Miss Young’s comments to the NMC which demonstrated some insight into her behaviour.

“Whilst the panel had been unable to conclude that the conduct was ‘highly unlikely to be repeated’ due to the lack of remediation, it did not consider that there was a ‘significant risk’ of Miss Young repeating the behaviour. ”