A 63 year old registered nurse from Reading has been struck off the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) register for abusing a patient and being convicted of assault.

Sophia Nkungwana was working in a care home when she was charged with slapping an elderly dementia patient on the thigh, for which she received a £250 fine and a conviction from Workington Magistrates Court in July 2007. A hearing into the incident by the independent Conduct and Competence Committee panel for the NMC heard the assault left marks on the patient and that Nkungwana also took hold of the patient's nightwear aggressively.

At the hearing, the panel heard that the patient was extremely vulnerable and dependant and due to a stroke had limited communication abilities. A witness saw Nkungwana slap the patient in March 2007 after the patient refused to take their medicine. Although Nkungwana had a good work history and the incident was isolated, the panel found her actions to be deliberate and a serious detour from the professional Code.

Commenting on the panel's decision to issue a striking off order, NMC spokesperson Kristy Hempel said:

"The Code states that a registered nurse has a duty of care to patients who are entitled to receive safe and competent care, that you must adhere to the laws of the land, act in a way that justifies the trust and confidence the public have in you, and uphold and enhance the good reputation of the profession. By hitting a vulnerable patient, Nkungwana breached these principles and caused the patient harm. The panel decided that to protect patients and uphold confidence in the profession there was no other option but to remove Nkungwana from the register."

The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) is the UK regulator for two professions, nursing and midwifery. The primary purpose of the NMC is protection of the public. It does this through maintaining a register of all nurses, midwives and specialist community public health nurses eligible to practice within the UK and by setting standards for their education, training and conduct. Currently the number of registrants exceeds 674,000. The Nursing and Midwifery Order 2001 (The Order), sets out the NMC's role and responsibilities.

Nursing and Midwifery Council