A NURSE threatened to cut up the daughter of a quadriplegic patient 'into little pieces' when she tried to care for her ailing husband, a hearing was told.

Greta Muvuti saw the woman as 'competition' and accused her of trying to 'run the show' at  Merryfield House Nursing Home in Witney, it was said.

When the daughter, referred to only as Jennifer, insisted her father needed a doctor Muvuti threatened to 'slit her throat', the Nursing and Midwifery Council heard.

Muvuti had repeatedly clashed with Jennifer when she attended the home to help staff care for her father's advanced multiple sclerosis.

The nurse had complained to colleagues that she found it 'difficult' working with the patient's family just a week before the incident.

Muvuti repeatedly played down the man's breathing problems to his family, but he was deemed unwell enough to be taken to hospital.

Gemma Kingswell, for the NMC, told the central London hearing that there was a 'personality clash' between Muvuti and Jennifer.

She said: "Jennifer was very involved in her father's care before he was admitted to Merryfield.

"It was not unusual for family members of Merryfield to assist in the providing of care for relatives - it was encouraged. This appeared to cause friction for Ms Muvuti - it appears that she saw Jennifer as competition and that she threatened her status as a nurse.

"On the night in question Resident A was unwell - Jennifer called her father and could tell something was wrong.

"He was struggling, having difficulty breathing. Ms Muvuti had contacted a doctor with the view to having antibiotics prescribed - her position was that the doctor did not have to attend.

"Ms Muvuti seemed to lose her temper when Jennifer asked her over the telephone if her father needed a doctor.

"She asked Jennifer if she 'wanted to run the show at the home'. She also told Jennifer that she had been a nurse for 30 years and knew what was best.

"When Jennifer tried to explain that she was just concerned about her father's breathing difficulties and that she would call the doctor herself, Ms Muvuti became angry."

The tribunal heard that Jennifer tried to apologise to Muvuti for the heated exchange upon her arrival at Merryfield to care for her father.

But Muvuti exploded when Jennifer insisted her father needed a doctor, telling her, 'Sometimes Jennifer I just want to slit your throat'.

"Muvuti then threatened to 'butcher her' and 'cut her up into little pieces and only leave her legs."

During an investigation into the incident, Muvuti claimed Jennifer had a 'colour problem' and that she 'didn't think much of black nurses'.

The panel heard that Resident A, who was in his early 50s, died in March 2011, just four months after the incident.

Muvuti, who is attending the hearing with her representative, denies telling Resident A's daughter that she would slit her throat or butcher her up.

If Muvuti is found guilty of misconduct she could face a permanent ban from the profession.

The hearing continues.