An NHS nurse in charge of a women’s psychiatric unit has been banned after using racist slurs.
Jaden Rachel Dios Hole called a black colleague the N-word, claimed one worker would receive a sick note from a ‘witch doctor’ and asked a colleague if he was ‘from the plantation’.
The remarks came within a list of offensive comments made by Hole between 2017 and 2020, a disciplinary panel at the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) was told.
Hole was co-chair of the Sussex Partnership LGBT Staff Network, which helps to safeguard the rights of gay and transgender staff at the Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust.
On top of this, the nurse also worked as a ward manager at a women’s mental health trauma unit in Chichester.
While apparently intoxicated, Hole called a black colleague ‘my n*****’ while they were on their way home from a team-building event, the NMC hearing heard.
Hole insisted to the panel that they had not meant to cause offence and that it was a reference to a Snoop Dog song playing on the radio in the car.
However, two staff members inside the vehicle at the time said they had ‘no recollection’ of the song being played during the journey.
Jaden Rachel Dios Hole (pictured) called a black colleague ‘my n*****’ and claimed one absent worker would receive a sick note from a ‘witch doctor’
The nurse, who was co-chair of the Sussex Partnership LGBT Staff Network, has now been struck off
The nurse was a ward manager at a women’s mental health trauma unit in Chichester
The panel concluded that the remark was ‘racially abusive’.
During a different conversation, when a black member of staff was off sick, Hole allegedly told colleagues: ‘I wonder which witch doctor she was going to get that sick note from.’
The nurse also allegedly spoke to a colleague using words to the effect: ‘Who are you? The man from the plantation?’
Hole has worked in psychiatric healthcare for three decades and was employed at the Sussex Partnership Foundation in 2014, their LinkedIn profile stated.
The nurse was suspended after colleagues reported their behaviour and they were referred to the NMC in May 2021.
Seven charges were then either admitted by Hole or proven following the NMC hearing.
The nurse’s lawyer told the panel that his client had shown ‘great remorse’, adding that they had accepted their conduct fell well below the acceptable standard.
Part of the case was held in private as the defence were concerned the case would be reported as ‘a trans-identifying man working on a psychiatric ward who is found to be impaired’.
A spokesperson from the Sussex trust said: ‘When the allegations of racism came to light, we acted immediately to investigate.
‘We are committed to providing inclusive and anti-racist healthcare services.’