Ex-nurse locked patient in room, tribunal told

A former mental health nurse from Wolverhampton was suspended after cutting a patient's hair and beard without permission and locking another in her room for humming, a tribunal was told.

Christopher Peet, who worked at Bellevue Court Care Centre, in Woodcross Street, Bilston, quit his job in August last year after being suspended and is currently facing a Nursing and Midwifery Council misconduct hearing.

A tribunal held yesterday heard that a resident of the home complained that his hair had been cut without his consent while he took a bath, with Peet later texting his boss to say the schizophrenia patient now "looked like he lived in a home rather than the jungle".

Peet also allegedly locked a female patient in her room in July 2010 because the sound of her humming annoyed him. The woman, referred to as resident A, needed round the clock care and was known to wander the corridors of the home.

On behalf of the NMC, Hannah Stevenson said a care assistant found the woman locked inside her room.

"The registrant told her he had locked resident A in her room as she was humming and it was disturbing him," she said.

"He said he couldn't concentrate properly on the medication he was giving out while the noise was going on." Peet also faces allegations of racial abuse against a fellow care worker, labelling her a "white Punjabi" because she was married to an Asian man.

He has shunned the NMC hearing in central London, telling the regulator in May last year he would refuse to engage with the disciplinary process. "I have decided to put this whole sad affair behind me," he said.

"I am retired now and want to enjoy time with my family."

The hearing continues.