A PSYCHIATRIC nurse who played the computer game 'Who Wants To Be A Millionaire' as a patient hanged himself can continue to practise, a misconduct hearing concluded today.

John Turver, 58, from Trowbridge, ignored a paranoid schizophrenic who committed suicide at Green Lane Hospital in Devizes because he was busy watching television and using a games console.

Turver wept with relief today as he was given a caution by the Nursing and Midwifery Council and told he can continue nursing.

But his colleague Katherine Banks, 38, from Corsham, who was having her hair cut in the smoking room at the time of the incident was struck off.

NMC chair Jillian Alderwick said Turver did not deliberately mean to cause his patient any harm.

She said: “We found that Mr Turver’s behaviour did not cause direct or indirect harm to patients but that there was potential to harm for patients.

“The charges relate to one night shift and there was no deliberate misconduct. Rather Mr Turver displayed poor judgement and poor practice in not personally assessing the patient.”

The council said there were enough ‘mitigating factors’ to impose a five year caution and urge Turver to do a leadership and risk assessment course.

Turver can continue his job for Rapid and Secure, an ambulance transport service in Bristol.

Turning to Banks, Ms Alderwick said there was ‘no genuine expression of regret or apology’.

“Properly conducted observations may have stopped him harming himself or given a greater chance of success to resuscitation attempts.

“This was a very serious departure from proper nursing standards and a serious failure in personal performance on the shift in question.”

Turver admitted picking up the games console on shift just minutes after last seeing the troubled patient on the night of March 12, 2006.

A nurse on the acute psychiatric Imber ward, Turver failed to speak to the patient who later hanged himself by his belt from his door handle and did not give him a proper assessment that night.

Before he killed himself the paranoid schizophrenic had stripped naked and absconded from the ward.

He complained of hearing voices inside his head to police officers and was returned to the hospital.

The un-named patient was placed under intense half-hourly observations by the day staff but they were downgraded to hourly checks when Banks and Turver came on duty that night.

The pair had then left the nurses’ station unmanned on the ward between 3am and 4am on the night of the patient’s death, despite him running amok stark naked from the acute Imber ward earlier that day.

When a care assistant’s personal alarm sounded on shift, all nurses were congregated in the smoking room, watching television, playing games and chatting.

Turver said he was told by Banks it was a false alarm and he went back to work before seeing the crash trolley fly past his office to the patient’s room.

Turver admitted only checked if the hourly 3am observation had been done as he was pumping up and down on the patient’s chest to try and revive him.

Consultant nurse Anthony Harrison who carried out an inquiry into the death said: “It was a very laissez-faire, very casual attitude to running a shift that was a concern to me.

“I think it would be very hard to justify all members of staff being in one room at the same time as doing hair-cutting, smoking, drinking, eating and watching TV, all for an extended period of time.”

Turver broke down in tears and said nursing had been a huge part of his life for 40 years.

He was found guilty of misconduct for not appropriately or properly assessing a patient and allowing a colleague to have her hair cut. He received a five-year caution.

Banks was struck off the nursing register for having her hair cut on duty, failing to respond to a panic alarm and inadequately observing patients.