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Nurse suspended for failures

11:18am Wednesday 20th August 2008

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A NURSE who did not properly monitor the injured foot of a pensioner who died the next day has been suspended for six months.

Janet Eruvbetere, 58, who worked at the Peartree Care Centre, in Sydenham Road, Sydenham, admitted a catalogue of failings.

The Catford woman claimed she was "extremely busy" dealing with visiting health officials while attending to the elderly man.

She admitted failing to complete a wound chart or body mapping chart, or taking a picture of the injury after examining the patient's foot.

A Nursing and Midwifery Council hearing on August 15 was told Ms Eruvbetere had been warned about failing to keep proper records less than a year before.

The pensioner was taken to the centre on January 26, 2006, after he injured his foot on his wife's wheelchair while taking her to the toilet.

He died the next morning after suffering breathing difficulties throughout the night.

Although the panel ruled Ms Eruvbetere should have kept accurate records, panel chairman Kathleen McLean told the hearing the nurse deserved just a six-month suspension because she was under "great pressure".

She said: "Although the registrant's failures could have caused a patient harm it did not.

"She made immediate admissions to the facts alleged, and showed insight into her failings. This was not an isolated incident, but it was not deliberate.

"The registrant intended to make the records as soon as she could. We accept that the registrant has expressed genuine regret and apology.

"She acted in the way that she did because of great pressure of work but she did not seek help."

Although Ms Eruvbetere admitted not taking a picture of the pensioner's wound, the panel ruled the charge could not be proved because hospital cameras were all broken.

The panel previously heard one of Ms Eruvbetere's colleagues saying he saw the patient's wound "oozing".

He said Ms Eruvbetere had a caseload of up to 19 patients and would have been under a lot of pressure with three different health visitors looking round the home that day.

Ms Eruvbetere, who qualified as a nurse in November 1977, was not present or represented at the hearing.

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The Real Me, Here says...
12:50pm Wed 20 Aug 08

Bit harsh aint it? Him dying was not her fault, he died of breathing difficulties in the middle of the night.....not the wound on his foot.

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Nick, London says...
1:09pm Wed 20 Aug 08

The Real Me wrote:
Bit harsh aint it? Him dying was not her fault, he died of breathing difficulties in the middle of the night.....not the wound on his foot.

No it is not harsh. Her job is to monitor and care for people who are unable to care for themselves and she was warned less than a year previously. We do not know the full story but if he had something like diabetes a cut on the foot could be fatal as they can turn gangrene.

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Ridge, Stockton-On-Tees says...
1:18pm Wed 20 Aug 08

Its tradgic & may that pensioner who lost his life R.I.P & i can understand the amount of pressure nurse's & Dr's have to endure as the goverment dont help provide enough resources to the NHS & can see its a serious strain on the staff who do there best to look after patients. although she was warned once before there should have been measures put in place to prevent this from happening & somewhere that either didnt happen or failed to be actioned & my thoughts are with the guys family who has lost their loved one.

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The Real Me, Here says...
1:24pm Wed 20 Aug 08

Yes Nick but gangrene does not kill you over night (if at all)

How on earth could the nurse legislate for him having breathing difficulties over night? How can you link breathing difficulties with a cut foot? Simple (like you), you dont.

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Nick, London says...
2:30pm Wed 20 Aug 08

The Real Me wrote:
Yes Nick but gangrene does not kill you over night (if at all) How on earth could the nurse legislate for him having breathing difficulties over night? How can you link breathing difficulties with a cut foot? Simple (like you), you dont.

The Real Me
Someone in my family has diabetes and she got gangrene in her foot. This was followed by Septicaemia and then she had to have BOTH her legs amputated to stop this spreading. If she had not been in hospital at the time and it had gone untreated she would have died. If you know anyone with diabetes you will know that they are told to be extra careful of any cuts on their feet as their circulation is not what it should be. Check out these websites before you start spouting about something you know nothing about.
http://www.reversega
ngrene.com/foot_gang
rene_diabetes.htm

http://diabetes.abou
t.com/lw/Health-Medi
cine/Conditions-and-
diseases/Common-Infe
ctions-in-Diabetes.h
tm

http://www.nhsdirect
.nhs.uk/articles/art
icle.aspx?articleId=
170

http://en.wikipedia.
org/wiki/Septicaemia

http://www.nhsdirect
.nhs.uk/articles/art
icle.aspx?articleId=
542

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The Real me, Here says...
2:44pm Wed 20 Aug 08

Thanks for the Diabetes lesson Nick but i feel that you have gone off the subject just a tad. I feel very sorry for you having someone in your family with it but there are people in my family with problems too. Do i come on here whining about it? No, so i suggest you do the same and stick to the story which is after all about an elderly man who cut his leg and died from something completely unrelated to aforementioned cut. I rest my case.

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Nick, London says...
3:43pm Wed 20 Aug 08

The Real me wrote:
Thanks for the Diabetes lesson Nick but i feel that you have gone off the subject just a tad. I feel very sorry for you having someone in your family with it but there are people in my family with problems too. Do i come on here whining about it? No, so i suggest you do the same and stick to the story which is after all about an elderly man who cut his leg and died from something completely unrelated to aforementioned cut. I rest my case.

The Real Me
I am not whining about anything just pointing out that something as trivial as a cut foot can be a lot worse than originally thought and that someone who is being paid to care for you should be doing their job properly. Take a chill pill and get over yourself will you.

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The Real Me, Here says...
4:03pm Wed 20 Aug 08

Oh that is rich coming from you Nick. You pick an argument for which you have absolutely no artilery to back up. Back to the drawing board my old chum.

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Nick, London says...
4:20pm Wed 20 Aug 08

The Real Me wrote:
Oh that is rich coming from you Nick. You pick an argument for which you have absolutely no artilery to back up. Back to the drawing board my old chum.

And how is that? My orginal comment was "No it is not harsh. Her job is to monitor and care for people who are unable to care for themselves and she was warned less than a year previously. We do not know the full story but if he had something like diabetes a cut on the foot could be fatal as they can turn gangrene. " All I was trying to point out was that she was required to provide a service as part of her job and that she failed to do so. This could have serious consequences because somethings that seem trivial are not.

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anon, Kent says...
9:58pm Wed 20 Aug 08

Another important story where people have created a pathetic argument in the "comments" box. So Sad.

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South East, South East says...
5:17am Thu 21 Aug 08

I agree it is not harsh. She was warned about not keeping correct records before according to the report.It is essential for correct records to be kept when dealing with patients wether in a nursing home, hospital, doctors surgery or a visiting district nurse. There is no excuse for not keeping correct medical records.

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South East, South East says...
5:26am Thu 21 Aug 08

I do agree though that nursing staff are under great pressure and extra nurses and health care assistants are needed in the NHS, private sector and care homes. They should also bring back the auxilliary nurses back on to the NHS wards to help the nurses and health care assistants.

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Jane, Belvedere says...
11:20am Thu 21 Aug 08

anon wrote:
Another important story where people have created a pathetic argument in the "comments" box. So Sad.

Another person who thinks their comment is so important it needs to be written all in bold. So sad.

Another person who posts a comment about the other comments without actually posting a comment about the story. So sad.

Nobody has "created" an argument. People are just having an argument. It happens. Get over it.

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Healthcare assistant, Kent says...
10:33am Fri 22 Aug 08

South East wrote:
I do agree though that nursing staff are under great pressure and extra nurses and health care assistants are needed in the NHS, private sector and care homes. They should also bring back the auxilliary nurses back on to the NHS wards to help the nurses and health care assistants.

Sorry to correct you, but HCA's are nursing auxilaries, its just a modern name for it.
Yes there are many pressures on health workers, however patient care should be paramount and if she was busy she should have asked for help, so i dont think it was harsh, however she did not cause the death of the patient and im sure she did not do this on purpose

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