Nurse keeps her job despite tying sick, elderly patient to bed

  • 25/03/2018
A Melbourne nurse has had her suspension overturned after tying a distressed elderly woman to a hospital bed using a bed sheet.
A Melbourne nurse has had her suspension overturned after tying a distressed elderly woman to a hospital bed using a bed sheet. Photo credit: Getty

A Melbourne nurse has had her suspension overturned after tying a distressed elderly woman to a hospital bed using a bed sheet.

Nurse Taruna Mehta was on a 12-hour hospital shift in Dandenong when she says she was "just too tired" to give the patient the special care she was assigned, reports the Herald Sun.

Monash Health policy classifies restraint as a last resort, but it must be authorised and follow procedure.

The tribunal investigating the incident heard that a doctor found the patient suffering from a urinary tract infection, lying on her side with her arms tied to the bed railing.

Ms Mehta, who denies having tied the patient to the bed, finished out her shift and was reported to industry authorities.

The Australian Health Practitioners Registration Authority requested the suspension of her registration, but Ms Mehta applied to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) for a review.

VCAT found Ms Mehta's actions "unacceptable" and "unnecessary", but didn't suspend her due to her clean prior record. They say she does not pose a risk to patients.

Newshub.