A nurse who used “unreasonable force” against a vulnerable care home resident has been banned from the profession for two years.
Su Jin Han, 47, grabbed a woman with dementia by the wrist and pushed her into a countertop while working in an aged care facility in Craigmore, north of Adelaide, a tribunal has been told.
Han was a full-time nurse at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Adelaide at the time but also worked part-time shifts at Estia Care.
A South Australian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (SACAT) hearing was told that the day before this incident, Han had worked a double shift before reporting to work at the care home early that morning.
The tribunal was told that that on three occasions in the space of an hour, Han had used “unreasonable force” while interacting with the same resident – with CCTV capturing each incident.
During the first, Han was seen to “forcefully grab the wrist” of the resident, holding onto them for 17 seconds before pushing her backwards into a countertop.
Just minutes later, Han was then alleged to have again grabbed the resident’s writs, holding on for 55 seconds after they had thrown paper towel at the nurses station.
The final incident happened about 35 minutes later when Han allegedly attempted to slap the resident using the lid of a packet of wipes.
The tribunal panel, which was assembled following a referral by the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia, ruled there was “no clinical need for the exercise of that force at all”.
A SACAT report stated Han had admitted to the allegations but said fatigue had affected her behaviour.
“She told the tribunal that she was only having one day off per fortnight, which is, of course, an incredible and dangerous working load,” the report states.
“On the day before this incident, she had done a double shift. She’d finished the night before at 10.30pm and started work again early in the morning next day.
“She states that she was very tired on the day of this shift and that her fatigue was likely to have had a significant impact on her behaviour.”
The panel reviewed CCTV of the incidents and found that her approach was not justified.
“We are fully satisfied that the degree of force, indeed the force exercised by the respondent towards the resident, as shown in the videos, was completely unreasonable and unnecessary,” the report stated.
“There was, in our view, no clinical need for the exercise of that force at all. There was no imminent danger which required the use of force and what happened was in fact an abuse of the nurse’s position of power in respect of a resident who was an extremely vulnerable person.”
The panel found that Han had “demonstrated appropriate remorse and some insight into her conduct” but ruled she required longer to reflect on her behaviour.
Han’s registration was cancelled, with a two-year period set before she can apply for reinstatement.