Sydney aged care worker banned for two years after allegedly tying resident to chair with a sheet

The Health Care Complaints Commission (HCCC) has banned an aged care worker from conducting any health care services, either paid or voluntarily, to any member of the public for two years.

Nyima Samdup was working at RSL LifeCare’s Wirraway Facility in Narrabeen, on Sydney’s Northern Beaches, 23km northeast of Sydney’s CBD, when the incident occurred. 

The Commission found that on 18 November 2020 at 1.45am, Mr Samdup restrained a 93-year-old resident in a recliner by tying a sheet around her and knotting it at the back of the chair while the resident was sleeping in the dining area. 

Mr Samdup left the resident there, restrained, until she was found the following morning at 8am.

The Commission found that Mr Samdup failed to provide health services to the resident in a safe and ethical manner, in breach of clause 1 of the Code of Conduct (as published at the time of the incident and up to 31 August 2022).

In a statement, the Commission said: “Taking into account the resident’s vulnerability, the serious breach of trust displayed by Mr Samdup, his dishonesty during RSL LifeCare’s investigation, and his lack of insight into the seriousness of his conduct, the Commission has determined that Mr Samdup’s conduct poses a risk to the health and safety of members of the public.”

The SOURCE: The use of restrictive practices has been banned in residential aged care since 2021 so this type of incidents should now be a thing of the past.