Nurse’s history of abuse
THE senior nurse accused of letting a patient die of brain injuries after dumping her drugged and naked in a tiny “seclusion” room for hours had faced disciplinary action two years before the tragedy for calling a vulnerable patient a “piece of s...”.
Leaked internal documents reveal experienced nurse Christine Borthistle also told another mental health patient “I’ll flatten you” after he raised concerns about smelling smoke.
And her colleagues claimed she was abusive, with one manager saying she was so “hostile” and “harrassive” that he “couldn’t sleep”.
Ms Borthistle was in charge of the care of Miriam Merten at Lismore Base Hospital when the mother-of-two died in 2014 even though the facility had investigated the senior nurse years earlier for “derogatory and disrespectful” comments to patients.
The Northern NSW Health District had even gone so far as to have her sacked in November 2011, but she was later reinstated after appealing the dismissal. Ms Borthistle recently passed away suddenly.