A MALE nurse working at Wrexham Maelor Hospital has been suspended for a year after he pinned a dementia patient to his bed.
Mark Bentum, 58, forced the elderly man down while shouting abuse at him and also gave him the wrong dose of a drug while he was in the toilet.
Bentum denied abusing the 87-year-old, known only as Patient A, claiming the allegations against him had been fabricated by his employers because of a racist vendetta.
But a string of charges against him were found and proved at a Nursing and Midwifery Council hearing in central London.
But the panel said a 12-month suspension was “sufficient and proportionate” to protect the public and maintain confidence in nursing.
Chairman Judith Way said: “The panel concludes this is a sufficient period to demonstrate that Mr Bentum's misconduct is unacceptable.
“The panel considers Mr Bentum’s misconduct is not fundamentally incompatible with remaining on the NMC register due to the mitigating factors identified.
“As such, the panel considers a striking off order would be a disproportionate sanction in this case.”
Bentum had earlier claimed his employers at the Wrexham Maelor had made up the “fraudulent” allegations against him, because he was black.
He said in a statement he had reported a series of racist incidents including one where he was called offensive names by a patient at the hospital.
“I had reported incidents where I believed I was being discriminated against,” he told the panel.
He added: “I felt I had had enough of discrimination not just on the grounds of my colour but also because I was the only male on the ward.
“I had enough of being bullied by some of the nurses.”
Bentum, who is now living in Ghana, insisted he had been helping Patient A to undress when he started throwing blows at him.
He was found guilty of shouting at Patient A, of pinning him to the bed and of administering an incorrect dose of the sedative lorazepam in the hospital toilets.
He was cleared of grabbing Patient A under the arms and in contravention of hospital policy, and of forcing a tablet into his mouth.