Hearing: Nurse who broke patient’s jaw is struck off

ANURSE has been struck off nine years after punching a vulnerable patient with severe learning disabilities and autism in the face.

Maxwell Nyamukapa has now been found guilty of excessive force more than a year after being cleared of the charge and misconduct by a panel from the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC).

Mr Nyamukapa was found to have punched Ben Garrod – previously known as Ben Pullar – in the face, fracturing his jaw and dislodging two of his teeth.

The assault had taken place at the scandal-hit Winterbourne View hospital in 2009 when Ben was living there.

Two years later, the privately-run hospital operated by Castlebeck Care (Teesdale) Limited became the focus of the BBC Panorama investigation team who exposed the extreme abuse taking place at the facility.

Ben was 18 years old at the time of the attack and is autistic, bi-polar and has severe learning disabilities. He got into a fight with Mr Nyamukapa in August that year.

Mr Nyamukapa said he punched Ben when the the teenager lunged at him and bit his fingers. Care notes written at the time and obtained by the BBC documentary series Inside Out West said Ben “had an accident with his teeth”.

In October 2017, the NMC deemed the specialist nurse fit to practice after they said it couldn’t prove he had used excessive force, angering Ben’s family who said they “will never get over the horror of what happened to Ben in a place he should have been cared for”.

Ben’s mother Claire and sister Emma said they were “dumbfounded” by the findings and were concerned about what appeared to be the lack of “accountability for his appalling injuries”.

The verdict, confirmed on Wednesday, October 11 2017, meant the then 36-year-old practitioner could continue working in his field without sanctions or interim orders being placed on him. He had also been cleared of any criminal wrongdoing by a police investigation.

However, the Professional Standards Authority (PSA) – who review the vast majority of the NMC’s hearings – said the NMC’s decision was “insufficient to protect the

Ben Garrod, formerly known as Ben Pullar, was 18 when he was injured by a nurse at Winterbourne View private hospital