Mental health nurse Ronald Charles Combe banned for two years after grabbing patient’s hair

A mental health nurse has been banned from working for two years after grabbing a patient’s hair and threatening to put her in seclusion.

A mental health nurse has been banned from working for two years after grabbing a vulnerable patient by the hair and threatening to put her in seclusion.

Registered nurse Ronald Charles Combe was in May 2019 working for an Adelaide mental health service – which was not named in court documents – where the female inpatient was receiving treatment for serious mental health conditions.

The Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia referred a complaint about Mr Combe to the South Australian Civil and Administrative Tribunal, alleging his actions toward the patient constituted professional misconduct.

In its ruling, the tribunal found Mr Combe, who first registered as a nurse in 1983, was working the overnight shift when the patient woke about 1.10am and began yelling out.

Another nurse attended to the patient, providing reassurance and medication to help her settle.

The patient went back to sleep but woke agitated at about 2.30am and was again settled by the other nurse on duty.

The patient did not return to sleep.

Mr Combe then approached the patient, without consultation with his colleague.

A mental health nurse has been banned from working for two years after grabbing a vulnerable patient by the hair and threatening to put her in seclusion. Picture: iStock

The tribunal found in a report to police, the patient said Mr Combe “started telling me off … he then said I needed to go to bed or I would be put in seclusion”.

She told police Mr Combe “was standing over me about 1m away … he then leant over and grabbed my hair at the top of my head with his right hand”.

There is no suggestion Mr Combe’s conduct was criminal.

In a note, the other nurse reported Mr Combe had “grabbed (the patient’s) hair and said ‘come on, you’re going to seclusion’”.

Mr Combe told the tribunal the patient had been at risk of waking other patients on the ward and that “as the nurse in charge, he needed to take control of the situation”.

He explained he mentioned seclusion as “an option, not as a threat”, but conceded “he should not have even offered seclusion as an option”.

He said he had “placed his hand on her shoulder as a circuit breaker” and that his “hand got caught in her hair” but conceded he should not have made any physical contact.

The tribunal did not accept his version of events, finding he was “not a fit and proper person to hold registration”.

“Mr Combe’s conduct was substantially below the standard reasonably expected of a registered nurse,” the tribunal found.

Mr Combe resigned shortly after the incident and told the tribunal he was “unlikely to ever seek registration as a nurse again”.

The tribunal formally reprimanded Mr Combe, found the allegations constituted professional misconduct.

He was disqualified from applying for registration as a health practitioner for two years – to mid 2025 – and banned him working or volunteering in any other health role for the same period.