A MENTAL health nurse has been struck off after a disciplinary panel found she had breached “fundamental” principles of the profession.

Jane Leena Appassamy was working at the Seaview House Nursing Home in Clacton, which is run by Aldanat Care Ltd and provides psychiatric nursing care, in August 2011, when the allegations that saw her investigated by a conduct and competence committee of the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) for misconduct took place.

A panel hearing earlier this week was told that Ms Appassamy allowed a resident, known as Resident A, to enter the house kitchen and use a knife unsupervised.

She also asked Resident A to help put another resident, known as Resident B, to bed. Ms Appassamy failed to step in when Resident A “loudly and abruptly” said to Resident B “you need to go to bed because you don’t want to see the other side of me”.

On a second occasion she inappropriately said to Resident B “do you want me to get the big guy?” in reference to Resident A.

The panel heard that Ms Appassamy, who did not attend the hearing, had denied all the charges and had shown “no appreciation of the potential harmful effects of her conduct both upon Resident A and Resident B”.

In their report, the panel, chaired by Lucinda Barnett, said Ms Appassamy had made no expression of apology or remorse.

The panel said that Ms Appassamy had maintained her denial of the charges throughout the NMC proceedings, and had instead alleged that the witness who reported the incidents had fabricated his evidence.

The panel concluded: “She should have known better than to act as she did and encourage Resident A to act as he did towards Resident B.

“The panel considers that Ms Appassamy’s behaviour is fundamentally incompatible with ongoing registration. Ms Appassamy failed to uphold the standards of conduct and behaviour that the public would expect from a registrant.”

The panel found Ms Appassamy had abused her position of trust and violated the rights of vulnerable patients for whom she was expected to care.

It added: “Ms Appassamy’s misconduct could have caused harm to the people in her care as well as herself and her colleagues. She has demonstrated a persistent lack of insight into her serious misconduct. Accordingly the panel has concluded that the only appropriate and proportionate sanction in this case is a striking off order.

“Ms Appassamy’s actions demonstrate a fundamental departure from the relevant standards that the panel has already identified and public confidence in the nursing profession and in the NMC as its regulator would be undermined were the panel not to impose a striking off order.”

A spokesman for Aldanat Care said Ms Appassamy had been suspended as soon as the allegations had come to light and had not returned to work.