Hearing told of midwife blunder

A baby was aborted alive at 22 weeks after a nurse blundered a contraceptive injection at a Shropshire surgery, a hearing was told.

Nurse Karyn Probert faces misconduct charges at the Nursing and Midwifery Council, but denies failing to establish whether the patient was pregnant.

She also denies dishonestly adding to computer records after the pregnancy was discovered to make it look like she had taken an appropriate patient history.

The woman was a month pregnant when Probert, 42, gave her the injection in May 2005 at the Station Road Surgery in Ludlow, the NMC heard. The woman demanded an abortion when she realised she was pregnant four months later.

Doctors believed the woman was 16 weeks pregnant but the child was born alive with a heartbeat and had died of extreme prematurity.

An inquest and post-mortem showed the baby was 22 weeks old.

At that age a foetus is about eight inches long, its organs are starting to function and it can use its sense of touch and wriggle in the womb, the hearing was told.

Rosemary Rollason, for the NMC, told the panel: "The respondent did not make any entry in relation to the date of the patient's last menstrual period.

"A month later, the patient came back to the surgery. She thought she was pregnant, which was confirmed by a test. The patient requested a termination and was referred to hospital.

"A heartbeat in the infant was noted. This was recorded as a live birth and as a result the case was referred to the coroner as a neo-natal death," said Ms Rollason.

On September 6, 2005, the GP told Probert about the patient's pregnancy and she altered her notes on the May 12, 2005, appointment on practice records, the panel heard.

"On September 21, 2005, Ms Probert entered the computerised record and made a further entry by adding 'remembered conversation with patient'," said Ms Rollason.

The dates of Probert's amendments were recorded on the computer's tracking system, the panel heard.

At a later disciplinary meeting, Probert admitted she had "panicked" after realising her notes did not include the information.

In the minutes of the meeting, Probert, from Eardisland, Herefordshire, was recorded as saying: "I realised I should have put the date and why I added it. I realised it was wrong."

The hearing was adjourned until April 11.