Latest news with #TyneandWearNHSFoundationTrust
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
I'm mourning my nursing career after a patient falsely claimed I was pregnant with his child
A former NHS nurse who was falsely accused of having an inappropriate relationship with a patient said she is 'mourning the career' she could have had. Jessica Thorpe, 31, was awarded a payout of £24,100 last week, after winning her claim against the Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust, which suspended her over claims by a psychiatric patient that she was pregnant with his child. Following a 2.5-year suspension, Thorpe took legal action against the trust. She told Yahoo News the verdict meant she 'could breathe again' but explained: 'I'm mourning the fact that if none of this had happened, I would be a nurse now. I would be qualified.' Thorpe had been working with the trust on a nursing apprenticeship scheme when a patient, known as Patient X, falsely accused her of being pregnant with his child in April 2020. Thorpe was initially suspended for what the trust described to her as a 'two-week fact find,' while they conducted their investigation. 'I wasn't allowed to come on the site and I wasn't allowed to speak to any staff whatsoever. So they immediately kind of isolated me from everyone,' Thorpe told Yahoo News. 'I felt like I was a criminal and that there was a very guilty until proven innocent mindset.' Despite a disciplinary hearing in July 2021 finding there was no 'conclusive evidence' to uphold the allegation, the suspension continued. Thorpe said there was 'just delay after delay after delay and each time there was there was very little sympathy'. Patient X died during the investigation, but Thorpe only learned of his death at a later date. 'I was terrified that they were going to try and turn this on me,' she said. 'Before I went into the disciplinary hearing, I got this huge pack of information… It was all gossip. It was all rumours. Nobody had seen anything.… I read through it and I thought, 'hell, if I was an outsider looking in, I would have thought I'd done it'.' She was eventually given the option to return back to work in October 2022. However, by this point, Thorpe says the thought of returning to work caused her anxiety. 'The thought of going back made me so anxious that I thought I can't go back... I thought 'I can't go back, essentially, into the lion's den'. I really didn't think I had any other choice, so I just left.' After handing in her resignation, Thorpe took legal action against the trust for constructive unfair dismissal, unlawful deduction of wages and breach of contract in early November 2022. 'The purpose of my claim was to get back what I'd lost,' she said. Despite the outcome being 'a huge sigh of relief,' Thorpe said: 'I think one of the things that has been highlighted to me is just how much money is being wasted from the NHS on cases like mine.' Thorpe pursued social media during her suspension, eventually winning a UK Top Influencer Award for her content, which often focuses on nurses' rights. However, during the case, her influencer status prompted the trust to argue that her earnings from social media should be considered in the calculation of mitigated losses. The judge eventually decided to take a percentage of her social media earnings off the total compensation she won, claiming that if Thorpe had returned to work, she would not have earned as much. Thorpe said: 'I think my social media is seeing me through… It's a great lifestyle. I won't lie. But, you know, I do miss working. I kind of struggle… What am I qualified at? What am I good at? What can I do in terms of a different career path, because nursing is all I've ever really known.' Lynne Shaw, executive director of Workforce and Organisational Development from Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust, said following the verdict: 'Although disappointed with the outcome of the tribunal, we respect its findings and will look at what lessons can be learned. We wish Ms Thorpe well for the future.'
Daily Record
08-05-2025
- Health
- Daily Record
NHS nurse suspended over fake baby claim by patient wins payout
Jessica Thorpe was placed on suspension for 29 months after the shocking allegation was made by a male patient in her care. An NHS nurse who was wrongly suspended after a patient falsely claimed she was pregnant with his child has won a £24,000 payout. Jessica Thorpe, 31, was placed on suspension for 29 months after the shocking allegation was made by a male patient in her care. An employment tribunal later heard that the claim was entirely unfounded, but by the time she resigned in protest, her NHS career was already in tatters. During her prolonged suspension, Jessica began posting food photos on Instagram under the name "Slice of Jess" — a move that saw her amass nearly 60,000 followers and a surprising new income stream. She eventually quit her post with Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust, accusing bosses of failing to tackle damaging workplace gossip about the alleged affair. The trust, however, tried to claim she had only left her job to pursue a lucrative influencer career — where she was reportedly earning £20,000 a year, reports the Mirror. But a tribunal ruled her resignation was valid and upheld her claim for constructive unfair dismissal. Judge findings revealed the trust had left her in an 'entirely unsatisfactory position,' and she was later awarded £24,118 in compensation. The judge remarked that even though the timing of her resignation was 'an oddity,' it was within her rights to explore alternative income during her suspension. 'There is no restriction on the innocent party to a repudiatory breach from seeking to earn money from other activities,' the ruling stated. Jessica, who joined the NHS in 2016 and was working on a mental health ward, shared her emotional journey online with followers. In one heartfelt post, she wrote: 'I was 26 and a nurse apprentice. Little did I know a few weeks from now a patient would make a false allegation against me and I'd be suspended from work for two-and-a-half years.' 'Today I am 31. I cleared my name and won a legal battle against my NHS trust for the way they treated me. Five years later. I will never be a nurse.' Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. The patient who made the false claim sadly died from a rare reaction to medication, and an internal NHS investigation found no evidence to support the allegations against Jessica. She was later told she couldn't return to work until two probes — one into the patient's death and another over alleged improper computer use — had concluded. In a statement, Lynne Shaw, Executive Director of Workforce & Organisational Development at the trust, said: 'The Trust is disappointed with the outcome of the tribunal. However, we respect the findings and will look at what lessons can be learned.'
Daily Mirror
08-05-2025
- Health
- Daily Mirror
NHS nurse wrongly suspended after patient said she's having his baby wins payout
Nurse Jessica Thorpe was awarded tens of thousands of pounds after she was suspended, following false allegations that she had become pregnant by a male patient An NHS nurse who was wrongly suspended after a patient claimed she was having his baby has won a massive payout. Nurse Jessica Thorpe was suspended for 29 months after the male patient said she was pregnant with his baby, an employment tribunal previously heard. But during the suspension, the nurse began to build an Instagram following of some 60,000 followers after she started sharing images of food under the name "slice of Jess". But after enduring months of suspension, Ms Thorpe resigned in protest at the treatment she faced and accused the health service of not doing enough to tackle staff "gossip" about the fictitious relationship. The Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust she had worked for attempted to argue her "real reason" for quitting the role was so she could pursue an influencer career, where she had been earning £20,000 a year. An employment judge concluded that while the timing of her resignation was an "oddity" but added if she decided to use her time to explore "the potential" of social media as a new income stream, then "so be it". Her unfair constructive dismissal claims were upheld and she has since been awarded £24,118 in compensation. "It is after all an oddity of this case that after over two years of calling on the respondent to perform its side of the contract, [Ms Thorpe] resigned when in other contexts the breach might be considered as having been remedied," the judge said. "However, the tribunal must apply the applicable legal principles. There is no restriction on the innocent party to a repudiatory breach from seeking to earn money from other activities that are not expressly or impliedly prohibited by the contract of employment." Ms Thorpe has shared her legal battle with her nearly 60,000 Instagram followers. In one post, the former nurse can be seen wearing her NHS uniform with the caption: "Five years ago this announcement was made. I was 26 and a nurse apprentice. Little did I know a few weeks from now a patient would make a false allegation against me and I'd be suspended from work for two-and-a-half years." "Today I am 31 years old," she said in a new caption, complete with a new dress. "I cleared my name and won a legal battle against my NHS trust for the way they treated me. Next month is my final hearing to determine my compensation. Five years later. I will never be a nurse." Ms Thorpe joined the NHS Trust in 2016 and had been working on a ward for men with mental health disorders in 2020, when the patient claimed to have been in an "inappropriate relationship" with the nurse and that she was pregnant with his child. She was suspended just days after the April 27 allegation was made. A tribunal found the patient later died due to a rare reaction to his medication and a July 2021 disciplinary hearing went over several issues, including his death and that the allegation was not upheld due to the lack of evidence. Ms Thorpe was later told she would not return to work until the investigation into the patient's death and a separate investigation into accessing an NHS computer system without permission had been completed. The judge later said this left Ms Thorpe in an "entirely unsatisfactory position," as reported by MailOnline. During the hearing that determined Ms Thorpe's compensation, the panel heard she had made £46,362 from her social media from November 2022 to April.
