A nurse who incorrectly administered morphine to two patients while working at a care home in Lancashire has been struck-off.
Lesley Rowland was suspended for 12 months from her position as a registered nurse in April 2021 after it came to light that she had given the wrong dose of morphine to a patient on September 3 2019.
When her case came before the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) for review on April 25 this year, the suspension order was extended for a further six months.
However, following a more recent hearing on October 28, the NMC made the decision to strike Mrs Rowland off the nurses register, a sanction that came into effect yesterday (December 2).
The NMC heard that on September 3 2019, Mrs Rowland had given a patient four times as much Oramorph, a brand name for painkiller morphine, as they were prescribed by a doctor.
She also administered the drug to the same patient without the presence of a witness or second checker.
On the same date, Mrs Rowland administered morphine solution to a second resident without the presence of a witness and then asked a colleague to lie about it and say they had witnessed the drug administration.
As a result, she was found guilty of misconduct at the April 2021 hearing and her fitness to practice was deemed to be impaired.
Since the suspension order was put in place, the NMC noted that “no steps had been taken by Mrs Rowland to strengthen her practice and found that she was still liable to repeat matters of the kind found proved”.
A report from the NMC review hearing in October stated: “There has been a lack of consistent engagement from Mrs Rowland with the NMC, and the only recent communication has been an email received from her in May 2022, in which she indicated she was planning to retire.
“The panel noted that there has been no communication from Mrs Rowland since that email was received, and no indication that she wants to engage with the proceedings and produce the evidence that previous panels have requested.
“The panel considered that the concerns have therefore not been addressed by Mrs Rowland, and there is no evidence before it that suggests her fitness to practise is no longer impaired.
“This is the second review of this case, and even after two periods of suspension, Mrs Rowland has shown a lack of engagement and had indicated earlier this year that she was intending to retire, but the panel do not have any further information to suggest that this has been confirmed
“The last reviewing panel had provided Mrs Rowland with another opportunity to engage with the proceedings and had clearly set out the evidence requested of Mrs Rowland, but this has not been provided.
“Further, Mrs Rowland was warned that a striking-off order might be imposed at the next review.”
The NMC, after considering all the information before them, decided that another period of suspension would not serve any useful purpose and determined it was necessary to take action to prevent Mrs Rowland from practising in the future.
It was concluded that the appropriate and proportionate sanction was a striking-off order, which would take effect upon the expiry of the current suspension order on December 2 2022.
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