Shropshire nurse who 'had to stop herself gouging colleague's eyeballs out' allowed to carry on working

Deborah Povall was the ward manager in charge of Powys at the Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt (RJAH) Orthopaedic Hospital in Gobowen, Shropshire, at the time she sent the text message to another colleague on or around September to November 2018.

Ms Povall has also admitted to failing to preserve patient safety by working excessive hours between June 2018 and June 2019.

However, she has denied all the other charges she is facing as part of a Nursery and Midwifery Council (NMC) substantive hearing.

The NMC has now closed its case, with only Ms Povall and any witnesses she may call due to give evidence. However, because of various delays, that now won’t be heard until mid-December, with the final decision potentally not being made until the New Year.

Following a formal investigation held by the RJAH in 2019, Ms Povall was suspended pending its outcome. However, the hearing heard on Thursday (August 28) that since leaving the hospital, Ms Povall has been working for a company that provides healthcare assessments for the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).

The panel decided not to impose an interim order, meaning that Ms Povall can continue working.

“My current role requires me to be a registered nurse, therefore any interim order potentially may mean that I cannot do that depending on what that was,” said Ms Povall.

“I do this over four days and compress my hours which allows me to have three days off. The reason I did that was mainly around the fact it gave me some more decompression time. One day is seven-and-a-half hours and others technically 10, but I rarely need to work those hours.

“My role involves me talking to invidividuals that are not acutely unwell, however they have healthcare conditions and my job is to ascertain them and the impact on their day-to-day function.