UPDATED A mental health nurse who worked at the Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability in Putney and St. George’s Hospital has been struck from the nursing register after giving a patient the wrong medication through their tracheostomy, despite their family trying to stop him.
Anthony J B D P Andrews was found to have acted “dangerously and dishonestly” while working as an agency nurse in South West London, according to a Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) misconduct panel ruling released this month.
The panel’s decision [pdf] followed hearings in December, which Andrews did not attend, and revealed a pattern of deception spanning more than two years.
The September 2023 incidents
On 8 September 2023, Andrews was working a shift at the Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability when he gave medication to a patient who was not under his care. The patient’s family reported they tried to stop Andrews, but he ignored them and continued administering the medication through the patient’s tracheostomy tube, using a route that would have taken “considerable force.”
The medication was incorrect. Andrews had mistaken the patient for someone else and failed to check their records. The patient began to cough and show signs of respiratory distress before being stabilised.
On the same day, Andrews gave medication to another patient without checking their records.
The panel found Andrews had accepted the shift knowing he did not have the skills needed for tracheostomy care. He had deliberately misled the ward manager by lying that he was trained in it, which the panel called “egregious and deplorable.”
Years of hiding regulatory problems
The misconduct went far beyond the September incidents.
Andrews failed to provide South West London and St George’s Mental Health NHS Trust with a copy of temporary restrictions placed on him by the NMC in 2021. He then breached that order by failing to notify the NMC within seven days of a medication error he made in May 2022.
Most seriously, after an interim suspension order was imposed on him in November 2023, Andrews worked five shifts for West London NHS Trust without telling them he had been suspended. The panel found he had deliberately not checked the outcome of the hearing.
Andrews was employed as a mental health nurse by two agencies, Care Staff Solutions and Pulse Nursing. His work placements included the Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability, St George’s Mental Health NHS Trust and the NHS Talking Therapies team at West London NHS Trust.
“Serious potential risk of harm”
The panel ruled Andrews’ actions had fallen significantly short of the standards expected of a registered nurse and amounted to misconduct.
“The panel determined that patients were put at risk and there was serious potential risk of harm as a result of Mr Andrews’ misconduct,” the report said. “Mr Andrews’ misconduct had breached fundamental tenets of the nursing profession and therefore brought its reputation into disrepute.”
The panel said Andrews had shown some remorse, but there was no evidence he understood the seriousness of his actions and their impact on patients’ safety.
“The panel determined that there is a risk to the public as Mr Andrews’ conduct was dangerous and dishonest and is unremedied,” the report added. “Due to a lack of insight, remediation and strengthening of practice, the panel decided that a finding of impairment is necessary on the grounds of public protection.”
The panel decided to strike Andrews from the register. An interim suspension order of 18 months was also imposed to cover any appeal period. His current status can be verified on the NMC register search.
In April 2025, a Band 7 Emergency Nurse Practitioner at St George’s Hospital was suspended for 12 months after the NMC found more than 60 serious patient safety failures.
Clarification (21 Jan, 5pm): The Royal Hospital for Neuro-Disability referred this matter to the NMC on 11 September 2023, three days after the incidents occurred. Mr Andrews was employed by nursing agencies, not by the hospital.
This story was first reported by Charlotte Lilywhite for the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
