A nurse has been struck off after she spent hours binge-watching Netflix and sleeping during night shifts at a care home. Susan Hughes, a registered nurse of 13 years, appeared before a Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) tribunal which found her guilty of misconduct.
Hughes worked at Charlotte House Care Home in Bebington, The Wirral, from November 2018. Within a year, concerns arose about her behaviour. On one night in December 2019, she bullied a female patient, referred to as Patient A, by forcing her into a wheelchair, throwing her onto a bed, shouting at her, and calling her “stupid, childish and selfish”. She also aggressively snatched a water jug, causing it to spill over the patient, and pulled her walking frame away, dragging her by the arm despite the patient’s protests.
Colleagues reported that Hughes regularly watched Netflix for hours on end during night shifts, often with earphones, and sometimes without. She was also seen sleeping for up to 90 minutes while on duty, with her feet on the reception desk and snoring. One witness said she slept every shift worked with her.
Hughes denied sleeping, claiming an eye condition made her appear asleep. She admitted watching Netflix but said it helped her concentrate. The NMC panel ruled her conduct was so serious she must be struck off, noting a “lack of evidence of remorse, reflection or any efforts to demonstrate that she has strengthened her nursing practice”.
