Mr D Plotkin (consultant) For the v Respondent — 2024

The Claimant was a band 5 staff nurse on Daisy Ward. The case focused on events on 4 and 12 December 2022 involving a patient who requested cyclizine. The tribunal found that the Claimant was disabled by anxiety, but rejected that she was unable to think clearly when dealing with the patient. It found that on 12 December 2022 she decided not to give cyclizine because she considered it unnecessary, then administered intravenous saline without a prescription, without a second registered practitioner checking it, and without telling the patient what the bag contained.

The tribunal dismissed the section 15 discrimination arising from disability claim, the reasonable adjustments claim, and the harassment claim. It held that the suspension, disciplinary proceedings, dismissal, appeal dismissal and NMC referral were not significantly caused by something arising in consequence of disability. It added that, even if that claim had been made out, the Respondent would have been justified in acting to secure safe and proper patient care. The reasonable adjustments case failed because the alleged PCPs were not established or the Claimant did not prove a substantial disadvantage or the necessary knowledge. The harassment allegations, including reported comments about an HCA and the alleged references to the Claimant as the "special one" or "teacher's pet", were either not proved or were found not to be related to disability.

The tribunal upheld the unfair dismissal claim. It found the dismissal procedure was unfair because the Claimant was not given some material relied on by the decision-makers, including patient-response information and missing transcripts. However, it found that on the evidence before the Respondent, the Claimant would have been dismissed in any event and assessed the chance of dismissal after a fair process at 100%. It also found that the Claimant's conduct on 12 December 2022 was culpable and contributed 100% to the dismissal, so both the basic and compensatory awards were reduced to nil. No remedy hearing was listed and no compensation was due.