A NURSE who yelled 'If you cause a scene, I'll floor you' at a patient in a busy hospital waiting area has been let off with a caution.

Siobhan Wright lost her temper when the vulnerable woman struck her carer across the chest in A&E in the Royal Blackburn Hospital.

Wright was employed by Calderstones NHS Foundation Trust, based in Whalley, caring for mental health patients.

The woman was taken to the Royal Blackburn Hospital on February 27 last year because she had a swollen knee.

But she became angry when a doctor told her they couldn't do anything about it.

Wright was called from Calderstones to assist with the woman but she started shouting at the patient in the waiting area.

Matthew East, a security guard who witnessed the incident, told a Nursing and Midwifery Council panel that the patient was completely calm by the time Wright arrived.

Wright then said ‘If you cause a scene I'll ... floor you' within earshot of members of the public waiting to be treated.

Wright initially denied she had ever said the words, but addressing the panel over the phone she said she denied the charges at first because she was scared, but now admitted them saying: “The more I reflected on it, the more I knew that it just wasn't right.”

Wright escaped a ban on practicing because the panel decided she had shown insight into her behaviour, but was served with a two-year caution order.

She was dismissed from the trust following an investigation on July 10.

Panel chairman James Daniell said: “Mrs Wright did not respect the dignity of Patient A, who was left feeling upset and embarrassed about the incident.

“The panel heard evidence of the graduated approach to managing a potentially difficult patient, and considered that Mrs Wright's approach fell far short of the high level of practice and care expected.'

But Mr Daniell said she had shown insight, the behaviour had not been repeated and she had taken remedial action by seeking greater support in her current role and not working overtime shifts.

Mr Daniell said: “The panel is satisfied that Ms Wright is unlikely to repeat the behaviour of the type reflected in the charges.”