Nurse banned after turning up to Bexhill care home drunk

Shaffick Gobindram showed up for work at Ancaster Court Nursing Home drunk three times between February and June last year.

The BUPA nurse was previously convicted of driving while four times over the legal limit in January, 2015, and was deemed unfit to practice by the Nursing and Midwifery Council.

“The panel agreed that Mr Gobindram’s actions, in attending work whilst under the influence of alcohol, fell far short of the standards expected of a registered nurse and were sufficiently serious to amount to misconduct,” the hearing report said.

Gobindram arrived for a night shift at around 8pm on February 16, 2015, and was sent home at 12.30am as he had enlarged pupils, bloodshot eyes, slurred speech, he smelt of alcohol and could not form coherent sentences.

Three weeks later, staff noticed Gobindram was struggling to stand and had lost his jacket which had clinical rooms keys in the pocket. At one stage, he was seen ‘crashing into a wall’ and crying saying he wanted to go home on March 8, last year.

Lastly on June 9, 2015, Gobindram was drunk again and sent home after attempting to administer medicine to patients.

“In this regard the panel considered that Mr Gobindram’s actions were serious and had the potential to place patients at a significant risk of harm,” the report said.

“It determined that his behaviour amounted to misconduct.

“The panel also took note of the fact that Mr Gobindram accepts his actions were sufficiently serious to amount to misconduct.”

Gobindram pleaded guilty and was convicted of driving with excess alcohol on September 28, 2014, at Hastings Magistrates’ Court on January 14, last year.

When stopped he had 141 microgram of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath.

Gobindram was sentenced to a community order, which included an unpaid work requirement of 260 hours, to be completed within 12 months.

The council’s conduct and competence committee substantive hearing decided a 12 month suspension from nursing would be suitable for Gobindram’s ‘extremely serious’ actions, which would be reviewed on completion.

Read the full report http://www.nmc.org.uk/globalassets/sitedocuments/ftpoutcomes/2016/may/reasons-gobindram-cccsh-48372-20160526.pdf|here}.

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