Stephen Hawking's former nurse banned from practicing over care for late physicist
A former nurse for Stephen Hawking was banned from practicing in the United Kingdom after regulators found she "failed to provide the standards of good, professional care" for the late theoretical physicist.
Patricia Dowdy, a registered nurse, faced multiple misconduct charges related to her care of Hawking, including financial misconduct, dishonesty, not providing appropriate care, not cooperating with regulators and not having the correct qualifications, the U.K.'s Nursing and Midwifery Council announced Tuesday.
"As the public rightly expects, in serious cases such as this – where a nurse has failed in their duty of care and has not been able to evidence to the panel that they have learned from their mistakes and be fit to practise – we will take action," Matthew McClelland, the NMCs director of fitness to practice said in a statement.
"We have remained in close contact with the Hawking family throughout this case and I am grateful to them – as they approach the anniversary of Professor Hawking’s death – and others for sharing their concerns with us. My thoughts are with the family at this difficult time," McClelland added.
Hawking died a year ago, on March 14, 2018, at age 76. For decades, the world-renowned scientist lived with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig’s Disease, a neurological disease that handcuffs movement.
But Hawking's longevity stunned many medical experts. ALS can kill someone within a few months of diagnosis, and there's only a 10 percent chance patients live more than a decade, the ALS Association says.
More: Stephen Hawking auction: Wheelchair and thesis sell for over $1 million
The Associated Press reported that Dowdy worked for Hawking from 1999 to 2004 and again from July 2013 until receiving an interim suspension in March 2016.
"The Hawking family are relieved this traumatic ordeal has now concluded and that as a result of the verdict, others will not have to go through what they suffered from this individual," the family said in a statement, the AP reported.
Contributing: Sean Rossman, USA TODAY.
Follow USA TODAY's Ryan Miller on Twitter @RyanW_Miller
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Stephen Hawking's former nurse banned from practicing over care for late physicist
