A nurse has been permanently barred from practising after a disciplinary hearing found he washed a vulnerable patient's genitals with a substance described as feeling like 'acid'.
Targeting the Vulnerable
Andrew Davies, 62, was working through the Richmond Nursing Agency Ltd at the intensive care unit of Prince Charles Hospital in Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales, between 2020 and 2021. The panel heard he targeted a patient, referred to only as Patient A, who was helpless and unable to speak, communicating solely through eye movements.
The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) fitness to practise panel found it proved that on one or more occasions, Davies used a product other than soap and water or a sterile pack to clean the patient's penis. Patient A told the hearing the substance felt like 'acid' and that Davies would squeeze his penis, pull back his foreskin, and look at him while pulling a face.
A Cruel Communication Ban
In a particularly cruel twist, the panel also found that Davies ordered the patient to sit in a chair and told him not to "f*****g roll your eyes at me". This was despite the patient's only means of communicating pain or distress being through his eyes or nodding his head.
"The only way I could try and communicate the pain I was in was through my eyes or by nodding my head side to side and when I did this, Mr Davies would come up to the side of my head and say 'don't f*****g roll your eyes at me'," Patient A stated in evidence.
Panel Findings and Health Board Response
The NMC panel, which took evidence from the patient, his wife, and hospital staff, found all nine allegations against Davies proved and concluded they amounted to serious misconduct. Representing the NMC, Giedrius Kabasinskas said Davies' actions were intended to, or had the effect of, intimidating, humiliating, and causing fear to the patient.
A spokesperson for Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board confirmed the agency nurse was immediately stopped from working in 2021 when the allegations were raised. "The safety and dignity of our patients is of paramount importance," the spokesperson said, adding that all appropriate professional, safeguarding, and regulatory processes were followed.
The panel determined that Patient A was put at risk and suffered both physical and emotional harm due to Davies' actions. Andrew Davies, who denied all allegations, has now been struck off the nursing register.
