A WARD manager at Basildon Hospital used a colleague as her personal handyman, a nursing tribunal has ruled.

Abiola Apara got a clinical support worker to mow her lawn, fix a leaking tap and install a new washing machine while he was supposed to be on duty.

She also got him to take her car for an MoT and fit new lights at her home.

The jobs became so regular colleagues at nicknamed him “Mr AA just for Miss Apara”.

The committee heard on one occasion he was two-and-half hours late for his shift, because he had driven Ms Apara to Ikea.

He made a complaint in January 2007.

It is among a series of offences which occurred between 2002 and 2007 while Ms Apara worked on the hospital’s Lionel Cousins ward.

Ms Apara denied the misconduct charges claiming they were part of a trumped up “conspiracy” by her former colleagues, but the panel found there was no evidence to back up this claim.

The tribunal also found Ms Apara had behaved inappropriately to other staff members by ignoring a ward sister for five weeks and only communicating by notes left in the staff room.

Ms Apara had argued the allegations could not be true as she held regular meetings with them.

A claim Ms Apara had also asked a staff nurse to provide a reference for her daughter, whom she had never met, was also accepted by the panel.

The Nursing and Midwifery Council's conduct and competence committee has yet to make a decision as to whether the charges amount to misconduct, the possible level of impairment and any potential sanctions.