Gavin Bevins: Former Robina Hospital mental health nurse reprimanded by tribunal

A tribunal has reprimanded a mental health nurse for pushing over an argumentative patient, who then sprung to his feet and punched the nurse in the face. Here’s what we know.

Gavin Sean Bevins, 51, formerly an enrolled nurse working in mental health at Robina Hospital. Picture: File

A tribunal has reprimanded a Gold Coast mental health nurse who pushed over an argumentative, mentally ill patient, who responded by punching the nurse in the face.

Gavin Sean Bevins, 51, who was a mental health nurse at Robina Hospital at the relevant time, was found by the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal on April 10 to have behaved in a manner constituting professional misconduct.

Mr Bevins was referred to the tribunal on May 29 last year, with the Health Ombudsman’s Director of Proceedings alleging the nurse had used “unnecessary and/or excessive and/or unjustified force” at the hospital’s mental health inpatient unit on September 22, 2022.

According to the decision of the tribunal’s deputy president, Judge Geraldine Dann, Mr Bevins was an enrolled nurse who had been working at the hospital for about 14 months when the incident occurred.

Robina Hospital. Picture: Queensland Government

The victim in the matter was an unemployed homeless man aged 44 who was well known to the unit and had been admitted due to chronic suicidal ideation.

Immediately prior to the fracas, the patient approached Mr Bevins at the nurse’s station and began to “raise his voice and become argumentative” while complaining about some of the care he’d received.

Mr Bevins responded by offering the patient medication, before leaving the station to undertake rounds, a course that took him past the now-seated patient, who gesticulated at Mr Bevins as he walked past.

Judge Dann said this indicated “ongoing fixation” with Mr Bevans.

The patient then shouted at Mr Bevins words to the effect that he should stay out of his room, which Mr Bevins appeared to take in his stride.

However, shortly afterwards, Mr Bevins pushed the patient with both hands, causing him to fall onto his buttocks.

The patient responded by punching Mr Bevins to his chin, leading to a code black being called.

The heart of the tribunal process, Judge Dann said, was deciphering what occurred between the patient yelling at Mr Bevins and Mr Bevins pushing him over.

On Mr Bevins’ account, the pair were walking past one another in the corridor when the patient moved to block his path.

Mr Bevins said he told the patient twice to “back off”, but when the man kept advancing, he pushed him. He expressed shock the patient fell over, as he didn’t believe the push was hard.

Another nurse who witnessed the incident confirmed she heard Mr Bevins tell the patient to desist.

However, Judge Dann found CCTV evidence contradicted this account.

She said it depicted the patient stationary as Mr Bevins approached him, but that the patient does then step to one side to block the nurse’s passage.

A specialist mental health nurse told the tribunal they believed Mr Bevins did not use “appropriate de-escalation techniques before physically engaging with the patient”.

Judge Dann found Mr Bevins should have called other staff for assistance rather than engage physically, therefore departing from “proper standards” expected of enrolled nurses.

Mr Bevins was reprimanded but no further action was taken.

According to Judge Dann, Mr Bevins is no longer registered, having failed to renew his accreditation in May 2023, having had several conditions placed on his registration by the Health Ombudsman two months prior.