A Stirlingshrie nurse who tried to cover up a fall sustained by a care home resident has been struck off.
Paul Flynn was found to have colluded with a colleague to cover up the fall at a Stirlingshire care home in July 2022.
The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) found that Flynn did not call an ambulance or seek medical assistance when care staff found the resident – named in the report as MM – in pain.
MM, described as an “elderly and vulnerable patient”, was later admitted to the hospital and found to have a fractured left femur which required surgery.
Flynn then attempted to cover up the fall sustained by MM with a healthcare assistant at the home.
Stirlingshire nurse ‘colluded with colleague’ after patient’s fall
According to the NMC, a message sent by the care assistant to Flynn shortly after the incident read: “I think we are f***** for this, dunno how can cover up a broken leg… simple accident, we (put) her back to bed which we knew was wrong but not staffed to monitor her laying on the floor where more damage could have been done.”
The NMC panel also noted text messages that appeared to show Flynn and the care assistant colluding to provide statements for the unnamed Stirlingshire home’s internal investigation.
Meanwhile, the NMC also found that when Flynn was told one of the resident’s legs appeared shorter than the other, he laughed and said: “Did it get shorter overnight?” or words to that effect.
Following a virtual hearing – which Flynn did not attend – he was issued a striking-off order by the NMC panel.
The hearing ruled that Flynn’s actions fell “significantly short” of the standards expected of a registered nurse.
The report said: “Mr Flynn was made aware at around 7.20am that resident MM, who was an elderly and vulnerable patient, was in pain and distress.
Stirlingshire nurse’s actions considered ‘deplorable’
“Regardless of whether he was aware at that point that she had fallen, he should have sought immediate medical assistance and should have treated her with care and compassion.
“His response to being told that resident MM appeared to have one leg shorter than the other was inappropriate and unprofessional.
“Mr Flynn’s care of resident MM fell far below the standards to be expected of a registered nurse.”
The panel said Flynn’s attempts to cover up the true picture of the event were “extremely serious and would be considered deplorable by fellow practitioners”.
A claim that Flynn manually lifted the resident back into bed was found not proven by the NMC.
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