Home / Crime and Justice / Nurse Watched True Crime Instead of Patient Care
Nurse Watched True Crime Instead of Patient Care
23 Jan
Summary
- Nurse neglected patient checks to watch phone videos.
- Dishonestly documented patient observations as completed.
- Professional registration suspended for six months.
Sandra Marie Young, a nurse with four decades of experience, has been suspended for six months by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) for serious misconduct. The incidents occurred in October 2022 while she was employed at Nuffield Hospital in Newcastle.
During her shift, Young failed to conduct essential patient observations after a patient collapsed. Instead, she was found watching true crime documentaries on her mobile phone elsewhere in the hospital.
Furthermore, Young dishonestly documented that she had performed these critical checks and escalated concerns to a medical officer, when in fact she had not. This misrepresentation directly compromised the patient's safety.
An NMC tribunal found her actions dishonest, stating an ordinary, decent person would consider her conduct unacceptable. Since resigning her position in October 2022, Young has not worked as a nurse and has expressed no intention of returning to the profession.
