A NURSE has been cautioned after admitting leaving a patient unattended and speaking aggressively to colleagues.

Arnie Decolongon, who worked in the critical care unit at Basildon Hospital, was called before the Nursing and Midwifery Council following an incident in March 2012.

After being asked to a meeting following a complaint by a colleague two days earlier, Mr Decolongon become “agitated”.

At various points throughout his shift he left a patient, who needed constant supervision after having a tracheotomy tube fitted to help with their breathing, unattended.

When colleagues challenged him on the decision, Mr Decolongon became “increasingly loud and aggressive’’ and accused them of bullying him.

The argument took place in front of patients, and he accused one fellownurse of not being good at her job.

During a hearing at the end of December, Mr Decolongon, who no longer works at the hospital, admitted two counts of misconduct.

Jack Walsh, chairman of the council’s panel, said: “By leaving a patient with a tracheotomy unattended, Mr Decolongon failed to provide adequate care based on best practice and left a vulnerable patient at risk of serious harm. He had been placed with the duty to provide one-to-one care for a highrisk patient.

“Although the patient avoided resulting physical harm, Mr Decolongon’s actions disregarded the care needs of the patient and placed the patient in significant danger.

“Mr Decolongon’s confrontational attitude towards other members of the team shows a failure to respect colleagues and hints at an inability to work effectively within a team.

“This misconduct is made all the more serious by his actions being conducted in the presence of patients and is highly likely to have reduced the confidence the patients had in their nursing team.’’

The panel handed him a three-year caution, which means he can still work, but the order will be on his record.

A hospital spokesman said: “If the conduct of our staff does not meet the standards we expect, we take appropriate action.

“Arnie Decolongon no longer works at Basildon and Thurrock University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.’’