Roy Fagan nurse Mark David Thomas banned from practising after tribunal finding

A former nurse who forced medication into the mouth of an elderly patient has learned his fate after a tribunal ruled on the future of his career. Here’s what happened.

Voluntary Euthanasia meeting at Cotton Tree Park. Photo: Kari Bourne / Sunshine Coast Daily

A former nurse at a Tasmanian mental illness and dementia facility for the elderly has been banned from providing health services for two years, after he forced medication into the mouth of a patient.

Mark David Thomas, 62, was a registered nurse at the Roy Fagan Centre in October 2020 when the assault against the dementia affected female patient occurred.

Mr Thomas forced medication into the woman’s mouth, causing her lip to bleed, in an incident witnessed by two ward aides.

The tribunal said he was not wearing gloves when he put his fingers in the mouth of the “distraught” patient, which placed her at “unnecessary risk of infection”.

The patient was heard by one witness swearing and threatening to call the police.

“DB observed that Mr Thomas’s fingers were in the patient’s mouth, the patient was struggling and looking distraught, and said to the respondent words to the effect of ‘you are hurting me’,” senior tribunal member Lucinda Jack said.

“DB also observed blood on the patient’s bottom lip after Mr Thomas walked away from her.”

It was also agreed the patient’s guardian had consented to medications being crushed up and hidden in her food or drink if she refused to take them.

The site of the Roy Fagan Centre at 54 Kalang Ave, Lenah Valley. Picture: Google Images

Mr Thomas was charged with common assault in November 2020, which he pleaded not guilty to, but he was found guilty and convicted in February 2021.

The tribunal also noted Mr Thomas had a history of complaints against him.

In 2002 he had been found to have engaged in misconduct on three separate occasions, in relation to medications, believed to have been stolen or unlawfully obtained.

It was also found in 2006 he had breached the nursing code when he had an improper relationship with a female patient.

In relation to the matter before the tribunal, Ms Jack said Mr Thomas had breached the relationship of trust between himself and the patient and that his behaviour was in breach of registered nurse standards and the code of conduct.

The tribunal noted Mr Thomas had indicated he did not intend to renew his registration as a nurse, and that he did not renew it after it lapsed in July 2022.

He was disqualified from applying for registration as a registered health practitioner for two years and also banned from providing any health service for the same period.

“I consider that in the present case there are a number of aggravating factors, including the extreme vulnerability of the patient, the effect on the patient – both physical and psychological and the seriousness of the assault leading to criminal charges,” Ms Jack said.