Telford nurse sanctioned after 'misconduct'
A Telford nurse whose poor medication record-keeping "placed patients at an unwarranted risk of harm" can only continue working in the profession under strict conditions, a hearing has ruled.
John Colley worked as a nurse at Lightmoor View nursing home, in Telford, from October to December 2015, a hearing before the Nursing and Midwifery Council in London was told.
A report detailing the outcome of the hearing states he made a "substantial number of repetitive errors" during his time there.
He has been given a 12-month conditions of practice order for misconduct, which will control the circumstances under which he can practise in the future.
The hearing, which took place in his absence, said he made a number of errors concerning medication and record-keeping.
In one instance, the report said he inaccurately completed records indicating a resident had been given a fentanyl patch to manage pain when she had actually refused it. It states the matter should have been escalated to her GP or the home manager but that was not done.
In other instances, he noted on a resident's chart he was "unable to locate" medication but other records indicated the medication had been in stock.
The report said on some occasions nothing was recorded to say whether or not residents had received their medication.
The report states: "In addition to the issues in his practise raised by the medication audit the registrant also accepts that on December 3, 2015, he left the home's treatment room unlocked when it was not appropriate to do so and on December 8, 2015, he left the medication trolley unlocked and unattended."
The report said the facts amounted to misconduct, adding: "The registrant's practise, particularly his poor record keeping, placed patients at an unwarranted risk of harm.
"The maintenance of accurate, contemporaneous and legible records is an essential aspect of ensuring patient safety.
"Further, the registrant's failures concern basic areas of nursing practice, record keeping, escalation and safe storage of medication in respect of which the public rightly expect nurses to consistently demonstrate high standards."
The hearing was told that Mr Colley had not worked as a registered nurse since the incidents were discovered.
