AYRSHIRE — The Nursing and Midwifery Council struck Janette Donnelly off the nursing register after a tribunal found the former manager of Millport Care Centre in Ayrshire instructed an NHS nurse to inject a COVID-19 vaccine through a resident's clothing in February 2021. The tribunal found seven charges against Donnelly proven and two not proven.

On 19 February 2021, a registered NHS nurse visited the care home to administer COVID-19 vaccines. Two attempts to give the resident, referred to as Service User A, her second dose in the dining room earlier that day were unsuccessful. The resident had a learning disability and was sometimes restrained briefly for feeding.

According to the tribunal, the vaccine was ultimately administered in the resident's bedroom while she was held on the floor by Donnelly and two other staff members. Evidence indicated the resident was shouting, screaming, and struggling during the restraint. Donnelly instructed the NHS nurse to inject the vaccine through the resident's clothing, and the nurse did so. After the injection, Donnelly released the resident, who ran down the corridor waving her hands and screaming.

Donnelly told a colleague she would not report that the vaccine had been administered through clothing. The council found that Donnelly's accounts involved sustained deceit and manufactured dishonesty, with the truth emerging only after a whistleblower's report. The panel also ruled Donnelly's failure to report the injection through clothing was dishonest.

The panel concluded that Donnelly's actions placed Service User A at risk of physical harm and placed the resident and other staff at risk of emotional harm. It ruled the vaccine did not have to be given on that day and could have been administered later, and characterized the use of force as "horrific," saying it resulted in scenes of chaos. The panel rejected Donnelly's claim that she had been overwhelmed and found her actions were driven by a desire for convenience.

The council ruled that Donnelly's actions were a serious departure from the standards expected of nurses and breached fundamental tenets of the profession. It also ruled that Donnelly had provided a dishonest and self-serving account of the incident.

Donnelly told the tribunal she was under organisational pressure and that the desire to get everyone vaccinated had clouded her judgment. She said she accepted that her actions had compromised the resident's dignity and right to refuse, and apologised to the resident and her family. She said she had made a gross error in judgment, would not let it happen again, and that no similar incident had occurred in the four years since.