The grievor was disciplined for abusing a particularly violent patient. The arbitrator allowed the discipline for remarks she made, but found too little evidence to support the allegation she struck him.
A nurse was suspended for eight shifts following allegations she slapped and spoke inappropriately to a patient.
M.C. became a Registered Nurse in 1981 and had been employed at the hospital where she worked for about six years in August 2010. She had never been disciplined.
Patient X was admitted to the hospital’s emergency department on the evening of Aug. 23, 2010.
X had overdosed on medication and consumed alcohol. X threatened suicide when police arrived in response to his 911 call.
X was characterized by the hospital as “aggressive, unco-operative and violent.” Notes indicated X tried to climb off the stretcher, yelled, swore, spat, threatened, tried to bite, and directed profanities at the staff.
Four point restraints were applied and attempts were made to apply a “spit mask” over X’s face in order to protect staff.
Police were called into the emergency room twice within a short period of time to assist in restraining X.
Two incidents that allegedly occurred shortly after X arrived were reported to the hospital.
One report from a nurse stationed at a desk in the emergency said she heard M.C. speak harshly to X. To X — who reportedly asked, “why don’t you let me die?” — M.C. was reported to have said, “If you wanted to die, why did you call 911?”
Another nurse reported witnessing M.C. slap X across the face.
The hospital conducted interviews over the next two days.
Unprofessional conduct alleged
The hospital concluded M.C. had committed the actions as alleged and an eight-shift suspension was warranted for unprofessional conduct that violated the standards of the College of Nurses.
The union grieved.
M.C. denied the allegations and the union said the employer had failed to prove the alleged misconduct.
Testimony from the nurse who walked in to witness the alleged slap was not unequivocally supported either by the Doctor who was working on the patient or another nurse who was assisting in restraining X.
It was accepted that X was flailing about, spitting and trying to bite M.C. while she was attempting to put a spit mask on him.
The other witnesses allowed that under the difficult circumstances, some incidental contact may have occurred — possibly even a “reactionary hit” — but there was no suggestion M.C. had administered a premeditated slap to X’s face.
The testimony of the nurse who said she heard M.C. ask X why he had called 911 was also problematic, the union said. The reported wording of the remark was not exactly consistent. Testimony was also inconsistent concerning the time and the location of the nurse when she heard the alleged comment.
Inappropriate remark
The Arbitrator acknowledged the inconsistencies but found the nurse’s account credible.
“Despite the lack of clarity on these points, however, after considering the evidence in its entirety, I accept [the nurse’s] account of what she heard the grievor say to the patient as both credible and reliable. I therefore find that she heard the grievor say to Patient X words to the effect, ‘If you wanted to die, why did you call 911?’ ”
That remark was inappropriate, the Arbitrator said, and warranted a disciplinary response from the hospital.
However, the Arbitrator was unable to conclude the evidence established that M.C. had slapped Patient X as alleged by the employer.
“Having considered all of the evidence before me, I am not able to conclude that the Hospital has established that the contact between the grievor’s hand and Patient X’s head on the night in issue is properly characterized as a slap as opposed to an attempt to restrain a very agitated patient. I therefore find that discipline for such alleged misconduct has not been proven to be justified, and that the grievance must to that extent be upheld.”
The hospital was ordered to substitute M.C.’s suspension with a written warning.
