Patient punched Tooting nurse in face after being groped, Nursing and Midwifery Council tribunal told

The patient, a man in his 30s, punched Francis Ryan Amparo in the face after he discovered the male nurse touching his genitals, it is alleged.

Mr Amparo, of Garratt Lane, Tooting, plied the patient with drugs before trying to grope him once he was asleep, a misconduct hearing heard on Monday, August 10.

He is accused of maladministering two strong prescription drugs - codeine and morphine.

The victim, known only as Patient A, had been admitted to Royal Gwent Hospital on September 12, 2007, with kidney failure.

Patient A told the Nursing and Midwifery Council he became suspicious on September 16 after the nurse, Mr Amparo, repeatedly offered him powerful painkillers despite him not requesting them.

Such was his concern that he pretended to swallow the drugs but hid them under his pillow and positioned himself to catch the nurse.

He told the hearing: “I woke up several times that evening with him near my bed.

"I was convinced he was trying to steal my belongings so I turned on to my side, facing the window, and covered my face with a pillow.

“The next time was at about 2.30am.

"He stood in the doorway, then stood near the bed.

"He couldn’t see my face but I could see his in the reflection.

"He slowly pulled the blankets back and took the pillow away from my face to see if I was asleep.

“He lifted the waistband of my tracksuit and his hand went straight down on my groin area.

"I waited, then turned around and punched him in the face and ran out of the room.”

The on-call physician at the time, Dr Mohammed Abdulla, told the hearing he was “led to believe that patient A was in significant pain” after talking to Mr Amparo, but official records showed Patient A had been given the drugs before they had been prescribed.

Mr Amparo, 33, who was absent from the hearing, said in written testimony that he thought Patient A was cold and was trying to “untangle” his blankets.

The hearing continues.