Former ward manager banned from clinical roles

A former hospital ward manager has been temporarily banned from clinical roles after an allegation of misconduct was held.

Debbie Povall was previously in charge of the Powys ward at the Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital in Gobowen, near Oswestry in Shropshire.

Concerns were raised about Povall's conduct towards both patients and staff between 2018 and 2019.

A fitness to practice panel reached the decision to impose a 12-month interim order, after deliberating several charges that she faced.

Some of the order's conditions are general, in relation to Povall's current role as a healthcare assessor for the Department for Work and Pensions, while others apply to any clinical roles she may undertake.

On 7 April, the panel will consider what sanctions she could face.

Povall had already admitted failing to preserve patient safety by working excessive hours, and sending a text message about a staff member, referred to as Colleague C.

Povall's text said: "I had to stop myself from [sic] as I would rather gouge her eyeballs out and shove them down her throat".

She denied all other allegations, including telling Colleague C that she should have apologised after arriving late, and being aggressive in tone to Colleague C when she tried to step in to help with a medical machine.

The panel found those charges proven, as well as the following charges:

• Failed to demonstrate appropriate standards of leadership by failing to ensure staffing levels were appropriate
• Declined to assist a colleague with a patient's bypassed catheter and asked him to continue observations
• Regarding a patient who had not passed urine, Povall told a colleague: "Leave the patient and she will wee", instead of requesting a bladder scan
• Said: "You need to get him [a patient] home tomorrow", or words to that effect, knowing that the patient had low haemoglobin and required a blood transfusion

However the panel did not find that Povall's actions caused Colleague C to bring a grievance and resign.

Povall accepted the panel's findings, and admitted that she had behaved inappropriately.

The panel concluded that all the proven facts amounted to misconduct, apart from telling Colleague C she should have apologised after arriving late.

Its chair, Richard Weydert told Povall that her fitness to practice remained impaired, but said it was limited specifically to charges that were clinical matters.

Weydert said Povall was "essentially remediated" regarding concerns in her conduct towards Colleague C, as well as working excesive hours, and failing to ensure staffing levels were adequate.

"But there is an outstanding impairment going forward because we've found you've not fully remediated on the clinical charges as yet," he said.

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.

Follow BBC Shropshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.