Devizes nurses played while patient hanged himself, hearing is told
Devizes nurses played while patient hanged himself, hearing is told
Excerpts:
Senior nurses on a psychiatric ward in Devizes played computergames and had their hair cut while a patient was hanging himself, ahearing was told yesterday.
John Turver, 58, failed to observe the at-risk patient at GreenLane Hospital because he was watching TV, the Nursing and MidwiferyCouncil heard. Senior nurse Katherine Banks, 38, was having her hairstyled by a colleague in the patients’ smoking lounge when the manhanged himself from the door handle in his room with his belt on March12, 2006.
The pair had left the nurses’ station unmanned between 3am and 4amon the night of the patient’s death, even after he had run amok starknaked earlier that day.
Consultant nurse Anthony Harrison said: “The patient’s absconding, thefact he was displaying unusual behaviour, should have been weighed upand taken into account before deciding to reduce the level ofobservation.
“Being in the patient’s smoking lounge meant they weren't in anarea where they could have readily observed any of the patients comingout. My view was that at least a member of staff should be out on theward at all times.”
Both nurses should have made sure the patient was regularly observed and further assessed for risk.
When a care assistant’s personal alarm sounded, all nurses were inthe smoking room. Ms Banks admitted telling Mr Turver the alarm wasfalse. Minutes later the patient was found dead in his room. MrHarrison said: “It was a very laissez-faire, very casual attitude torunning a shift.
*Click here to read the full article: http://www.thisiswiltshire.co.uk/news/headlines/4117093.Devizers_nurses_played_while_patient_hanged_hismelf__hearing_is_told/
Update:
Nurse guilty of misconduct
Excerpts:
A mental health nurse wept after he was found guilty of misconduct for failing to take proper care of a paranoid schizophrenic patient who committed suicide while he was on duty.
John Turver, 58, broke down as he told a disciplinary panel at the Nursing and Midwifery Council in London, "it's been a difficult time."
The panel ruled the fitness to practise of Turver and another nurse,Katherine Banks, was impaired because of their misconduct. Banks did not attend the hearing.
The nurses, with almost 60 years of experience between them, failed to assess the patient when they took over on the night shift at Green Lane Hospital in Devizes on March 11, 2006.
Theparanoid schizophrenic patient committed suicide while they playedcomputer games, watched TV and had a haircut on duty at the mentalhealth unit.
Both Turver, of Trowbridge, and Banks, of Corsham, denied the allegations of misconduct.
But the hearing also found that Turver had allowed another member of staff to cut Banks' hair, meaning there were no nurses available at the nurses' station.
Banks,the senior nurse on duty, was found to have reacted poorly to the alarm when the patient's body was found, and could not recall where she was or what she was doing.
Banks' only mitigation put before the panel was an email which read: "I feel I can't attend as the past four years has put me under extreme physical and mental strain and my GP is concerned that appearing at this hearing would set me back irrevocably."
She said that despite 18 years in service with an unblemished record shehad no intention of re-registering to get back into her career.
She resigned from her post before disciplinary proceedings had reached their conclusion.
*Click here to read the full article: http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/wdp/news/Nurse-guilty-misconduct/article-694729-detail/article.html
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