A MENTAL health nurse from Romford accused of a “pattern of failures capable of compromising patient care” is to face a disciplinary hearing before the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) early next year.

Neliswa Beja, of Jarrow Road, faces claims she put patients at risk while she was working as a community mental health nurse for the North East London NHS Trust in 2008.

Nothing at all has been proved against nurse Beja but, pending investigations, tight conditions were placed on her practice as a nurse for 18 months in June last year.

The NMC said those conditions were “necessary for the protection of the public”.

Top judge, Mr Justice Burton, on Friday (December 10) extended the NMC’s conditions for a further six months, making it difficult for her to work as a nurse before the full hearing of her case by the NMC’s Conduct and Competence Committee in January or February next year.

Applying for the extension, NMC barrister, Salim Hafejee, said the council was asked to look into the allegations by the NHS trust, which provides health care for people in Havering, Waltham Forest, Redbridge, and Barking and Dagenham.

He told the High Court the claims, if proved, showed “a pattern of failures capable of compromising patient care”, and “patients would continue to be at risk if an order was not made”.

He said the accusations nurse Beja faces include “neglecting her duties” and “putting clients at risk and failing to act appropriately when informed of a patient overdose”.

When checking that the delays to her case were not unnecessarily harming nurse Beja’s career, Mr Justice Burton was informed that the full hearing of her case is due to take place in the next two months.

The judge granted the six-month extension to the conditions, saying that was “in keeping” with the ongoing investigation.