A doctor stabbed his own mother to death in a fit of rage during a ‘Boomerang Generation’ row after his parents evicted him from their family home.
Clinical radiologist Andrew Nisbet, 41, knifed special needs teacher Pamela Nisbet, 68, in the neck after learning he was about to be evicted from their family home.
As she lay dying on the floor, Nisbet fought with his father Patric who tried to tend to his wife in a bid to save her.
Mrs Nisbet died at the scene from her injuries despite attempts by paramedics to save her.
At the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) in Manchester, Nisbet was struck off after he made a plea to a disciplinary panel to spare him career ruin.
In August last year, at the Royals Courts of Jersey, Nisbet denied murder but pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.
Nisbet was later sent to a psychiatric hospital. He is currently detained at a secure treatment facility in Essex.
He told police afterwards: ‘I remember standing a few feet away from my mother who was lying on the floor. I realised I had a knife in my hand, and I felt very confused.’
Pamela (above), 68, and Andrew Snr saw their son’s living arrangements as a ‘short-term solution.’
They evicted their son, his partner, and their newborn son after he turned down an offer for a three-bedroom property
Nisbet had previously lived and worked in Scotland but was said to have ‘experienced difficulties’ in interacting with patients and work colleagues and in November 2017 his employers suggested he work remotely from home.
Andrew Nisbet (above), 41, fatally stabbed his mother Pamela Nisbet, 68, in the neck after his parents evicted him and his family from their home on Jersey in Channel Island
He returned to live with his parents in the parish of St Peter on Jersey and moved into an annex with the hope of extending the house for him to live in with his partner and newborn son.
Nisbit became apart of the ‘Boomerang Generation’ – a term applied to young adults who choose to share a home with their parents after previously living on their own
His mother and father saw his new living arrangements as a ‘short-term solution’ and when their son turned down their offer of a three-bedroom property elsewhere on the island Mr and Mrs Nisbet began eviction proceedings against him.
In August 2019, a summons was served on him and a meeting was set up four days later to discuss the eviction but Nisbet’s partner stormed out after 20 minutes and he then promptly turned on his mother.
Mrs Nisbet’s husband – a consultant radiologist at Jersey General Hospital – was sat in a room next door when he heard a scream and ran in to find his wife bleeding from her neck on the floor.
He struggled with his son for a few minutes and tried to fend him off with his walking stick before being forced out of the annex.
During the fight Mr Nisbet Snr pleaded: ‘Andrew, for god’s sake let me go and look after your mother’ only to get the reply: ‘I can’t do that’.
Nisbet pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility, but denied murder after attacking his mother in her home
Police and paramedics arrived but were unable to save her.
Earlier this month he appeared at his MPTS tribunal to explain the background to the killing and produced a series of expert reports in an attempt to save his 19 year career in medicine.
One report complied by a fellow doctor known only as Dr E read: ‘Doctors who kill are very rare and this underscores the unique nature of the offence and additionally that it is my opinion unlikely to be repeated; therefore I would consider Dr Nisbet a low risk to the general public.’
Nisbet’s lawyer Christopher Gillespie told the hearing: ‘Dr Nisbet does not pose a risk to his patients nor the public at large. In his former adjusted role as a teleradiologist as he had no contact with patients and there was no previous history of offending or violence.
Police were unable to save her when they arrived at her home (shown above). The Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) has ordered Andrew’s name be erased from the medical register
‘The offence was not premeditated and the assault was by means of a single blow.
The weapon was a penknife type implement, which Dr Nisbet was accustomed to carrying, rather than a weapon with which he had armed himself in order to commit the offence.
‘Dr Nisbet has been proactive in reflecting on his behaviour, in trying to understand his conduct.
He has demonstrated over the years that he can achieve academically, lead a fulfilling professional life, in a role that complements his strengths and abilities, and maintain a loving and stable relationship with his partner and children.
‘As was clear from his evidence, both written and oral, he does display insight into the issues of risk and how he and the profession are perceived by the public.
It may be that he has had to work harder to achieve that insight but that should not be a factor that should be held against him.’
In ordering Nisbet’s name to be erased from the medical register, MPTS chairman Tim Smith said: ‘The Tribunal has seen some evidence to indicate that Dr Nisbet has some coping strategies in stressful situations, but they have not fully developed.
‘Following the stabbing he mentioned how his father had hit him with his walking stick so hard that it broke.
The Tribunal considered Dr Nisbet concentrated more on himself than realising why his father acted as he did, having seen his wife being killed in front of him.
He added: ‘In his previous role as a radiologist Dr Nisbet had no contact with patients, however, there is not a recent risk assessment available nor any guarantee that he would have the benefit of similar work place adjustments.
On his evidence he appears to be making slow but steady progress but still remains a risk to the public.
‘A reasonable and well-informed member of the public would be appalled if Dr Nisbet, who had been convicted of manslaughter, was permitted to return to unrestricted practice.
‘Whilst the Tribunal has sympathy for his personal circumstances these must yield to the need to maintain public confidence in the profession and the maintenance of proper professional standards.’
DM
