Latest news with #NursingAndMidwiferyCouncil
BBC News
a day ago
- Health
- BBC News
Dorset nurse who lied about care instructions struck off
A community nurse who lied after she completed a patient visit alone when she was told to do it with another colleague has been struck Gould, who worked in Weymouth and Portland, Dorset, was told by a manager in a patient's clinical notes that two colleagues should carry out the person's collar care in July she said she did not check those notes, completed the visit herself and accepted she had doctored the document that said she must visit with another nurse.A Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) panel said her "premeditated and systematic deception" was "fundamentally incompatible" with staying on its register. Ms Gould's supervisor initially worried they had made a "serious mistake" by failing to tell her in the notes that the collar care should have been done by two Ms Gould covered up those details in pictures of the notes that she sent to her panel found had Ms Gould sent the original document as it was written, her failure to carry out the visit with another colleague "would have been immediately obvious".Though it found she caused no harm to the patient, it said her actions were a "significant departure" from the standards expected. You can follow BBC Dorset on Facebook, X, or Instagram.
BBC News
a day ago
- Health
- BBC News
Care home nurse suspended over attempt to cover up errors
A nurse has been suspended after attempting to cover up several failings at a Glasgow care Amoabeng was found to have committed a number of errors in May 2021 while working at Oakbridge Care Home in the city's Knightswood mistakes included locking a resident in their room for up to half an hour, not correctly assessing another resident following a fall, and trying to get two colleagues to give a "misleading impression" about events. The Nursing and Midwifery Council heard Mrs Amoabeng was suffering difficult personal circumstances at the time, and has no other incidents on her record during a near 30-year career. However the regulator ruled that her "dishonesty was not at the lower end of the scale and was extremely serious."The three person panel added that her decisions "brought the profession into serious disrepute by your departure from the fundamental tenets" of the profession. Resident 'in pain and discomfort' While working the nightshift on 15 May 2021, Mrs Amoabeng was found to have locked a resident in their bedroom for up to 30 minutes, as well as locking other residents in their created a "significant risk of potential harm" to the first resident in particular, who was left in an agitated accepted these charges, as well as one that stated she later moved another resident without using a hoist after they fell and suffered a potential fracture - a decision the panel ruled was "not wholly unexpected".Mrs Amoabeng disputed charges that she advised the resident should be left and regular checks should be conducted, and that any decision on whether to call an ambulance be left to the day shift when they arrived for these charges were proved by the regulator, which found the resident was agitated "because of the pain and discomfort they were experiencing" after the fall, and that an ambulance should have been called immediately. It was only when a care assistant challenged Mrs Amoabeng's decision that an ambulance was called. 'Very serious issues of dishonesty' Following the fall, she was found to have asked two colleagues on multiple occasions to say the resident had been able to walk to was found to have "left a profound impact" on two witnesses, who were shocked. Mrs Amoabeng denied this charge but the panel ruled she had committed dishonest actions to create a "misleading impression" of the incident. It stated these were "very serious issues of dishonesty" and her actions "did fall seriously short of the conduct and standards expected of a nurse." The panel ruled: "While there is no evidence of actual harm being caused there was a significant risk of unwarranted harm to residents. "Your misconduct had breached the fundamental tenets of the nursing profession and therefore brought its reputation into disrepute."However the regulator ruled the "clinical failings" - meaning the locked room and patient assessment charges - were unlikely to be repeated and that Mrs Amoabeng's most recent manager believed she was "kind, safe, and effective." It found there was a risk of repetition regarding dishonesty, and that her fitness to practice was impaired as a result. The panel decided to impose a suspension order for six months with a review, with a interim suspension order of 18 months in place to cover any appeal no appeal is made the interim suspension order will be replaced by the substantive suspension order 28 days after Mrs Amoabeng receives the hearing decision in writing.
The Independent
22-06-2025
- Health
- The Independent
Four nurses investigated over death of boy, 5, at flagship children's care home
Four nurses are facing a fitness to practise probe after the death of a 5-year-old boy at a flagship care home for disabled children, The Independent can reveal. The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), the UK's nursing watchdog, initially found there was no case to answer over the death of Connor Wellsted, who suffocated in his cot in 2017 while being cared for at The Children's Trust (TCT) in Tadworth, Surrey. The nurses were referred to the NMC in May 2022, but the watchdog later closed the investigations. It reopened the probe in November 2023 and, this month, after a 19-month-long investigation, decided all four nurses should face fitness to practise tribunals. No interim conditions have been placed on the nurses, meaning they can continue to work while awaiting the outcome. If the committee finds the nurses are unfit to practise, they could be struck off or suspended. However, the committee can also decide that the nurses' fitness to practise is not impaired and give no sanction. It comes after The Independent revealed that Surrey police had reopened a probe into the handling of Connor's death following a litany of failings over the little boy's care. Connor died at TCT, the UK's largest brain injury rehabilitation centre for children, which can care for up to 66 young people, having suffocated when a cot bumper became lodged under his chin. He had been there for six weeks, receiving care for neuro-rehabilitation. He was the first of three disabled children to die while in the care of TCT. Raihana Oluwadamilola Awolaja and Mia Gauci-Lamport died in June and September 2023, respectively. Multiple failings have been identified in all three of the children's care, including a failure to appropriately monitor them. In 2022, coroner Karen Henderson found Connor died after the cot bumper, which was not properly secured, came loose and obstructed his airway. The inquest found TCT 'failed to keep Connor safe in his cot.' Among concerns highlighted by the inquest was the fact Connor had 'no regular or direct supervision during the night'. The inquest also revealed staff did not fully inform the police and coroner's services as to the circumstances of his death. Police were not told of the position Connor was found in, and that he had been dead for some time. They were also not told that the padded cot bumper was initially found across his neck, the inquest heard. The prevention of future deaths report states TCT's chief nurse and medical director were concerned about the role the bumper played in his death, but they did not keep a copy of his medical records or inform the relevant statutory bodies and 'arguably misled' the CQC. The pathologist was also not informed of the circumstances of his death, which prevented a post-mortem examination from taking place to establish whether the cot bumper played a part in how he died, the report said. 'An innocent individual' Last month, Coroner Fiona Wilcox issued a prevention of future deaths report following the death of Raihana. The report found there was a 'gross failure in care by nursing staff' after they failed to adequately observe her. It is not known whether any of the same staff cared for both Connor and Raihana. The inquest also revealed: 'Following Raihana's death, TCT undertook an investigation which failed to uncover what had happened or to understand the cause of her death. This meant that a nurse, to whom Raihana's care had been handed to by the allocated carer was blamed by the TCT and was referred to the NMC erroneously.' TCT said the initial investigation had been carried out by an external organisation. The inquest also found 'issues with the credibility of another nurse (nurse two) who should have been caring for Raihana'. Ms Wilcox warned: 'There may be a culture of cover-up at the TCT, in that they carried out a flawed investigation after this incident, pushing blame onto an innocent individual and thereby avoiding highlighting systemic failures and learning and thus risking lessons that should be learned are lost that could prevent future deaths.' In response to the coroner's allegations about the erroneous referral to the NMC, TCT said: 'We accept that the initial external investigation was inadequate and did not sufficiently explore systemic factors. 'We later identified these issues and undertook further work to strengthen our organisational learning. The extensive evidence presented to the coroner during the inquest helped clarify the events that led to Raihana's death and enabled us to improve the way we manage and investigate incidents. 'Raihana's death has prompted significant reflection, change, and action across our organisation. We are working hard to build a no-blame culture and support our specialist staff to meet our high standards of care. We've made significant changes to how we review and respond to concerns - focusing on learning, not blame.' It said it has implemented the Patient Safety Incident Response Framework (PSIRF), 'which shifts the emphasis from individual fault to understanding wider systemic issues'. The NMC was sent a copy of Raihana's prevention of future deaths report. In a response to The Independent, it said: 'We are aware of the tragic deaths of Connor, Raihana and Mia and our thoughts are with their loved ones. 'We can confirm that we have received the prevention of future deaths report in relation to Raihana's sad death and are considering the appropriate next steps. 'We are only able to confirm whether an individual is under investigation in certain circumstances, which is generally if we have completed an investigation and case examiners decide there is a case to answer.' The NMC confirmed that, in the case of Connor, its case examiners have decided there is a case to answer concerning four registrants and have recommended they proceed to a fitness to practise committee. The NMC has faced criticism over the screening and decision-making of referrals.
BBC News
26-05-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Kettering hospital nurse struck off after sharing patient details
A children's nurse has been struck off the professional register after sharing confidential information about a patient with her partner.A fitness to practise panel concluded that Zoe Jane Bradford, who worked at Kettering General Hospital in Northamptonshire, disclosed the patient Bradford admitted accessing clinical records on three occasions and the panel found she made a fourth Nursing and Midwifery Council committee said allowing her to continue practising would "not protect the public and would undermine public confidence in the profession". In February 2021, the panel was told that Northamptonshire Police contacted the NHS hospital trust about a potential breach of confidentiality by a member of force had already arrested Ms Bradford's partner, known as Mr B during the hearing, and had found images of medical records belonging to the patient was the victim of an assault, that had happened after Ms Bradford accessed the clinical records - the panel Bradford admitted that Mr B told her the patient had been a lodger in his parents' house and had assaulted his father and held a knife to his mother's accepted she accessed the patient's records on three occasions in January 2021 but denied a fourth breach of confidentiality in December panel, sitting from 6 to 14 May, found the fourth breach was proved. Ms Bradford said Mr B asked her to look at the records, but denied sharing them with could not explain how the records got on to his Radley, representing the Nursing and Midwifery Council, told the court there was more than "just a risk" of harm to the patient, because he had in fact been assaulted after the breaches. 'Positive changes' The panel accepted that Ms Bradford did not know why Mr B wanted the records, but she had abused her position of trust as a nurse and her misconduct could "seriously undermine trust in the nursing profession".She had, however, apologised and "demonstrated real remorse for her actions".The panel noted she had since split from her partner and had "worked hard to make positive personal and professional changes".The panel ordered her to be struck off the nursing register. She has 28 days to appeal, but an interim order is in place to stop her practising during that time. Follow Northamptonshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
