A Suffolk mental health nurse who was accused of misconduct has been cleared.

Tapuwa Kaja was accused of not noticing and reporting that her nurse colleague had fallen asleep during an overnight patient observation in 2020 at the now closed St John's House in Palgrave.

She admitted to momentarily leaving a patient she was supposed to be continuously observing and giving her a drinks can which the patient then used to harm herself in 2019 while working at the Plumstead Hospital, Norwich.

Reaching their verdict today, the Nursing and Midwifery Council panel said: “Whilst you did breach the code of conduct in relation to the observations, the actions in the context were not so serious to meet the threshold for professional misconduct.”

Following the verdict, Ms Kaja said: “Thank you all for taking your time in reviewing my case. I really appreciate it and promise I will be the best nurse. This has been a stressful time but it has taught me a lot and has given me a chance to think about my nursing career. I am now more determined than ever to develop within this profession.”

St John’s House was shut down in 2021 after an inspection found “elements of abuse” in the interactions between patients and staff.