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Nurse accused of patient abuse clears her name
‘I was victimised and bullied – I have lost all trust in the NHS’
A nurse has won a two year legal battle to clear her name, after being suspended from her job at one of the borough’s failing psychiatric hospitals following allegations that she threatened and abused patients.
Evangeline Atkinson, 60, was one of eight nurses, known as ‘The Daleham Eight’, suspended from the specialist psychiatric unit Daleham House, in Belsize Park, in October 2005 for gross misconduct and institutional abuse following a string of allegations made by a student nurse during his work placement.
An employment tribunal threw out Camden and Islington Mental Health and Social Care Trust’s appeal against the original judgement in December 2006, which found Mrs Atkinson to have been unfairly dismissed.
The decision to award compensation was made at a remedy hearing on Friday. Mrs Atkinson said the decision marked “justice” and that she could finally begin to get her life back together following two years of depression and debt caused by the “scandal”.
Speaking after Friday’s hearing at Victory House, Holborn she said: “I am on top of the world right now because justice has prevailed. My life was hell after the suspension. I was diagnosed with depression, I suffered from insomnia and it took me ages to get a job because my reputation was in tatters.
“After 33 years of unblemished service to the NHS they repaid me by victimising and bullying me. I have lost all my trust in the NHS.”
Two week’s into her suspension, Mrs Atkinson decided to hand in her resignation to the clinic, which rehabilitates vulnerable patients suffering from schizophrenia and other psychiatric illnesses. She had worked at the clinic since 1993.
Mrs Atkinson was accused of locking patients out of their rooms without consent and threatening to beat up one patient for not having her daily wash.
Mrs Atkinson was one of eight out of 22 nurses at the unit who were suspended by Camden and Islington Mental Health and Social Care Trust following the allegations.
Staff maintained that locking patients out of their rooms was a local policy to protect patients and staff from the fire risk caused by patients smoking.
Following an internal investigation during the suspensions, five of the nurses were reinstated, one was dismissed, one remains suspended and Mrs Atkinson handed in her resignation.
Mrs Atkinson said: “There was no discussion about my suspension and I was not allowed proper representation. I felt I had been used as a scapegoat to excuse the unit’s poor record in the health inspections. I wasn’t going to let them use me to make a political point so I decided to fight.”
Mrs Atkinson is claiming £296, 000 for loss of earnings and pension but there is a cap of £64,800 for cases of unfair dismissal.
Another of the eight nurses, who was dismissed following the allegations, has written to the House of Lords asking them to waive the six-month limit imposed on requesting a tribunal.
The Camden and Islington Mental Health and Social Care Trust declined to comment because the decision on compensation has not yet been made.
A decision is due on November 27.
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| Your Comments: |
I am the son of Mrs Evangeline Atkinson.
My mother had over 32 years of loyal, faithful, unblemished nursing career
and a truly dedicated service in the NHS and she was basically "slapped in
the face" by the management of Camden and Islington Mental Health & Social
Care NHS Trust based in Hampstead and King's Cross.
The NHS Trust is now applying to be a Foundation Trust and I am calling for
members of the public to write to Monitor and to protest against their
application.
They should all resign before they destroy more peoples' lives.
Anoi Atkinson |
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