A NURSE who gave incorrect doses of medication to a patient and falsely recorded it has been struck off over a decade on from the incident.
In July 2013, while working at Benham Care Home in Bromborough, Ruth Patten, was found to have administered the wrong amount of painkillers to a resident and made false records claiming she had completed the tasks correctly.
Now, more than 10 years on, Mrs Patten has been struck off by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) following a number of year-long suspensions.
Having originally been handed down a year-long conditions of practise order by the NMC after charged against her were found proven in 2015, a fresh 12 month suspension was imposed in 2023 after Mrs Patton said she was looking to return to the care profession.
A Substantive Order Review Meeting heard on September 4-5 was told it was the ninth review which had imposed a suspension order or conditions of practice order with the current suspension order due to expire at the end on October 12 2024.
The latest panel considered that since the last review on September 1 2023, "there has been no substantial change of circumstances in terms of Mrs Patton remediating or strengthening her practice".
An email from Mrs Patton sent to the NMC in Mach 2024 said: "I wish to remain on the register and in November 2023 I completed an aesthetics course both pathway and advanced levels which have given me an insight and helped with my confidence to prepare to return into nursing practice. I followed the advice that you gave that I needed to try and obtain employment that doesn’t require my NMC Pin. My hope is that I can return to university to complete a Return to Nursing Practice course".
However, the panel said it had "not seen either an application or any preparation that Mrs Patton has done to assist her return to nursing practice".
The report made public by the NMC said: "The panel could not conclude as to whether there has been greater insight since the last review, as there is no evidence before this panel that shows Mrs Patton’s insight.
"The panel did not have sight of the information the previous panel had in respect of a reflection statement. Therefore, the panel was unable to establish Mrs Patton’s current level of insight or what steps she has taken to remediate the misconduct.
"The panel determined that Mrs Patton’s practice remained impaired and there was still a need to protect the public. The panel determined that it could be perceived that there is an issue of public confidence in the nursing profession and in the regulator, in relation to this case, as this is the ninth review of charges which originated in 2013. It determined that there would be a desire from the public for the effective disposal of this case."
The panel added: "This case has been ongoing for nine years, and Mrs Patton has not been able to comply with the conditions of practice order satisfactorily.
"There is still a risk of harm to patients as Mrs Patton has demonstrated a lack of insight and a lack of remediation.
"Mrs Patton did not comply with the conditions of practice order and previous panels replaced those orders with a suspension order. The panel determined that Mrs Patton is liable to repeat the misconduct found proved. It therefore concluded that a finding of impairment is necessary on the grounds of public protection."
The panel also noted that on three occasions during the history of Mrs Patton’s fitness to practice, she had had the opportunity to adhere to a conditions of practice order but had not engaged and chosen not to attend.
"There is no evidence to suggest that a tenth review would lead to remediation," added the panel who imposed a striking-off order to take effect upon the expiry of the current suspension order.
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