Barwon Health nurse Anita Du Maurier spat on elderly patient, swore at staff and residents

A Barwon Health nurse committed a vile attack on an elderly patient, declaring “this how we should deal with them”.

A Barwon Health nurse allegedly assaulted an elderly patient resident.

A Barwon Health nurse spat on an elderly dementia resident before going on a verbal tirade about the “f**king c**t” in front of staff and residents.

Veteran aged care nurse Anita Du Maurier, 66, was suspended following the incident at Barwon Health dementia unit Blakiston Lodge in mid-2019.

Du Maurier assaulted an elderly Blakiston resident after attempting to administer the patient medication, the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal was in March.

The tribunal determined, on May 24, allegations Du Maurier spat on the patient then used in appropriate language towards staff and residents were factual findings.

Du Maurier worked up a mouth full of spit and spat on the resident’s face.

The spit was returned fire after the resident spat at her first.

“Maybe this is how we should deal with them,” Du Maurier said.

Du Maurier left the room, pushed her medicine trolley down a corridor and splurted a verbal tirade in a “tone which could be heard through the wing”, the tribunal heard.

“F**king c**t”,” Du Maurier allegdly said.

“That little c**t spat into my face … this place, these people, how dare she.”

Du Maurier’s tirade was witnessed by Barwon Health staff.

Sarah Keating, for the Nursing and Midwifery Board, said Du Maurier was known to swear and the tirade “didn’t happen out of the blue”.

A witness, who said Du Maurier was an “intimidating” and “old school” nurse, described the spit as “retaliatory”.

“She built up a spit in her mouth (and) she didn’t seek to get rid of any spit that came into her mouth, she didn’t remove anything from her mouth, she made no effort to get a towel or wash it out or anything …,” the witness said.

The witness said she believed Du Maurier had built up enough spit to “retaliate against the patient”.

“She turned to spit at the resident,” the witness said.

Another witness said she’d heard Du Maurier utter “c**t” in private but never at work.

A third witness said she saw Du Maurier pause and make a motion that looked like she was “gathering spittle” before she spat back at the resident.

The witness said the pause made it difficult for her to give Du Maurier the “benefit of the doubt” about her reaction being a “fight or flight” response.

The witness said she was “in shock” after seeing the incident and moments after moved to a “confidential area” to discuss how to respond to the incident.

“Normally, I would report it to the person in charge …,” the witness said.

“I couldn’t do that because (Du Maurier) was that person.”

Du Maurier, who commenced at Barwon Health in 2015, told the tribunal she denied spitting on the resident and calling her a “c**t”.

The veteran aged care nurse with almost 40 years experience claimed she approached the resident and offered her a banana.

Du Maurier said she “jerked upright” and cleaned herself at a basin after the resident spat at her twice.

“She spat into my mouth, she spat into my face,” De Maurier said.

“The first one was a huge spit, it landed in my mouth … I was horrified … I just couldn't deal with it … physically I felt sick … the second spit came down the front of my uniform.”

Du Maurier claimed her mouth was dry due to dentures and she didn’t have “spit to spit”.

Du Maurier also told the tribunal she “expelled” the resident’s mucus from her mouth.

“I never spat back at the patient at all,” De Maurier said.

Du Maurier also claimed witnesses “misconstrued” what was said after the spitting incident.

Du Maurier also alleged the witnesses “colluded” against her.

“When I was walking through the corridor I was thinking ‘I can't do this, I can’t do this’,” Du Maurier said.

Du Maurier said she was later stood down and escorted off Barwon Health premises by security.

“My whole life was destroyed …,” Du Maurier said.

“In one instance it was gone … it was horrible.”

The tribunal ultimately found the testimony of the three witnesses to be consistent.

The tribunal also agreed with the board’s submission that Du Maurier’s “account” had “changed over time”.

The tribunal will determine whether its findings constitute unprofessional conduct or professional misconduct at a later date.

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Originally published as Barwon Health nurse Anita Du Maurier spat on elderly patient, swore at staff and residents