A mental health nurse working for agencies in South London has been permanently barred from practising after a series of dangerous and dishonest actions, including forcing medication into the wrong patient's throat opening.
A Dangerous and Dishonest Course of Conduct
Anthony J B D P Andrews was found to have committed serious misconduct while employed through agencies Care Staff Solutions and Pulse Nursing. A Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) fitness to practise panel concluded his actions were so severe that he must be struck from the nursing register to protect the public.
The panel, which held hearings in December 2025 that Mr Andrews did not attend, determined his fitness to practise was impaired. A newly published report this month states his behaviour put patients at direct risk and brought the profession into disrepute.
The Tracheostomy Incident and Other Failings
The most alarming incident occurred on 8 September 2023. The panel found Mr Andrews administered medication via a tracheostomy – a surgical opening in the throat – to a patient who was not under his care and for whom the drugs were not prescribed.
The report noted this would have required "considerable force". The patient began coughing and showed signs of respiratory distress, requiring stabilisation. Crucially, the patient's family reported they tried to intervene and stop Mr Andrews, but he ignored them and continued.
Mr Andrews had mistaken the patient for someone else and failed to check their records. On the same day, he was also found to have given medication to another patient without checking their records.
A Pattern of Deception and Breach of Orders
The panel uncovered a pattern of dishonesty. Mr Andrews accepted a shift knowing he lacked the necessary skills for tracheostomy care and deliberately misled a ward manager by falsely claiming he was trained.
Furthermore, he failed to provide South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust with a copy of temporary restrictions the NMC had placed on him in 2021. He then breached an NMC order by not reporting a medication error he made in May 2022 within the required seven days.
Even after an interim suspension order was imposed in November 2023, Mr Andrews worked five shifts for West London NHS Trust without informing them, having deliberately avoided checking the hearing's outcome.
His work placements included The Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability in Putney, St George's Mental Health NHS Trust, and the NHS Talking Therapies team at West London NHS Trust.
Struck Off to Protect the Public
The panel stated Mr Andrews' actions "fell significantly short" of expected standards and were "egregious and deplorable". While he showed some remorse, there was no evidence he understood the seriousness of his actions or their impact on patient safety.
The report concluded: "The panel determined that there is a risk to the public as Mr Andrews' conduct was dangerous and dishonest and is unremedied... a finding of impairment is necessary on the grounds of public protection."
Consequently, the panel decided the only sufficient sanction was to strike Anthony J B D P Andrews from the nursing register, ending his career.
