Mental health nurse made patients wash his car

Foxhall House in Ipswich is a low-secure-level service for male offenders, or those at risk of offending, with mental illnesses

A mental health nurse has been struck off after he took several patients outside a secure facility to wash his car as part of their "therapy".

Ian Brown had been working at Foxhall House in Ipswich, a low-secure unit for male offenders who have a mental illness.

A Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) misconduct hearing investigated several claims about Mr Brown's behaviour in 2019.

The Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) said it had followed "appropriate and necessary internal proceedings".

A report from the hearing stated Mr Brown had said washing his car was part of "therapy" for the patients.

Mr Brown joined the NMC register in February 2018 and began working at Foxhall House in February 2019.

He had previously worked at the Suffolk Rehabilitation and Recovery Service where concerns around "unprofessional behaviour towards colleagues and patients" were raised before he was redeployed to Foxhall House.

In August 2019 it was alleged Mr Brown took four residents, one of whom did not have authorisation to leave, outside to wash his car.

A colleague who gave evidence to the panel said Mr Brown had described it as "therapy" for the patients.

The hearing was told Mr Brown said in response to the allegations: "I believe it's more constructive to wash a car than sit outside smoking."

In September 2019 it was alleged Mr Brown opened a secure gate in a garden that resulted in a patient absconding.

Mr Brown said he had been following a brief to clear some wood from the area and "unfortunately mistakes happen".

'Far below standards'

Mr Brown resigned in October 2019 but an investigation review meeting a year later found he "would have been dismissed on the grounds of misconduct" if he had remained employed by Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust, which manages Foxhall House.

The panel ultimately found Mr Brown's actions fell "significantly short of the standards expected of a registered nurse" and that they "amounted to numerous breaches".

"We consider the misconduct serious because Mr Brown’s actions amount to a number of serious breaches, falling far below the standards expected in the circumstances, which would be found deplorable by a fellow nursing professional," the NMC added in the report.

The report said striking Mr Brown off the NMC register was "necessary" for public safety as well as sending a "clear message about the standard of behaviour required of a registered nurse".

An NSFT spokesperson said: "There is nothing more important than the safety of the people under our care.

"Ian Brown let down his patients and his nursing profession and acted against the values of our trust and the NHS.

"As a consequence of Mr Brown’s actions we made sure to follow the appropriate and necessary internal proceedings and Mr Brown was referred to the Nursing and Midwifery Council.”