Shocking Abuse Exposed: Nurse Struck Off After Demanding 'Good Thrashing' For Patient!

Emma Elizabeth Doherty, a former deputy ward manager at the Edenfield Centre in Prestwich, has been struck off the Nursing and Midwifery Council register following a disciplinary tribunal. This decision comes after a BBC Panorama documentary, aired in September 2022, exposed a catalogue of abuse at the NHS secure psychiatric hospital, leading to the unit's closure to new patients and multiple investigations. Ms Doherty was one of a dozen staff members dismissed in the wake of the programme.

The tribunal heard that Ms Doherty was filmed by an undercover reporter making highly inappropriate and abusive comments about patients. Regarding a patient referred to as 'Service User A', she was recorded saying they 'needed a good thrashing' and should be sent to prison where they would 'soon be brought down a peg or two'. She was also filmed stating, concerning the same patient, "She's not to have anything? That's grand. That's fine. I'm not ar**d, she'll be getting f*** all off me."

Furthermore, Ms Doherty described another patient, 'Service User B', as a 'pain in the ar*e'. In a particularly concerning exchange, when a colleague mentioned being close to giving Service User B an overdose to harm them, Ms Doherty replied, "I would have gone through her." As the most senior person on shift as deputy ward manager, Ms Doherty also failed to take adequate action when she witnessed a support worker making derogatory comments about Service User B, further highlighting her lapse in professional conduct.

Mohsin Malik, representing the Nursing and Midwifery Council, emphasized the 'huge impact' the Panorama documentary had on patients and their families. He argued that Ms Doherty had not 'fully taken responsibility' for her actions, noting her testimony where she blamed the BBC for causing harm to patients by broadcasting her comments, which she claimed were never intended for them to hear. Mr Malik described her remarks as 'abusive and degrading', asserting they risked 'enticing violence' against vulnerable patients and demonstrated her complicity in the 'culture of the unit'.

In her defence to the committee, Ms Doherty expressed 'genuine remorse' and described the culture at the Edenfield Centre as 'toxic'. She attributed her comments to 'frustration' and feeling 'over-whelmed' due to the unit being short-staffed and lacking adequate support and resources. She stated that staffing levels and burnout were raised with management but "appeared to fall on deaf ears as nothing seemed to be done about it," leading staff to become resigned to the low staffing and poor morale.

Despite acknowledging the 'difficult and challenging' nature of the work, the disciplinary panel concluded in its written ruling that Ms Doherty's comments and actions amounted to misconduct. They determined that her behaviour placed patients at an 'unwarranted risk of psychological, emotional and physical harm' and brought the nursing profession into disrepute. Consequently, the panel ordered her removal from the Nursing and Midwifery Council register.