A nurse who worked at a Dundee care home has been reprimanded after he made mistakes with patient medication.
Mental health nurse Ewan Corral, from Perth, admitted giving a resident their medication at the wrong time, leading to an investigation by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC).
The nurse also admitted he falsely recorded another patient’s anti-psychotic medication had been administered when it was not in stock.
The incidents are said to have taken place in 2018 when Mr Corral was employed at Benvie Care Home in Lochee.
A manager at the home said the incidents had been investigated and stressed they occurred during Mr Corral’s probationary period.
Mr Corral admitted two of the three charges brought against him, with the NMC finding that the third had not been proved “on the balance of probabilities”.
Remorse
Mr Corral’s solicitor, Gary Burton, told the panel his client had shown “significant remorse”.
Mr Burton also pointed out his client had admitted the errors at the outset of the
hearing and throughout the process. He said this showed “considerable insight” on his client’s behalf.
He added that whilst there was no actual patient harm as a result, Mr Corral acknowledged family members of his patients and the public would lose faith in his care.
‘Serious misconduct’
In a report, the NMC panel concluded that Mr Corral’s actions fell “significantly short” of the standards expected.
“Temazepam is a medication which may tend to make the patient drowsy,” the report said.
“As a result of giving Patient A Temazepam in the morning, when it should have been in the evening, it was necessary for the patient to be monitored during the day.
“The panel was of the view that that giving Temazepam at the wrong time of day was serious misconduct.”
Addressing the admission, about saying medicine had been given to a patient when it was actually out of stock, the report said: “Missing out medication on three separate days and retrospectively signing for it was misconduct.
“The panel acknowledged that this did not lead to patient harm, but it noted that it did have the potential for putting the patient at risk of harm.”
In determining a sanction, the panel said that the nurse’s actions could have put patients at risk.
‘Well-developed insight into failings’
But acknowledged Mr Corral had demonstrated an understanding of how his
actions put the patients at risk of harm.
The report said: “The panel was impressed with the level of insight you have shown during your oral evidence, not only in relation to patients, but also how your actions affected their family and your colleagues.
“The panel further concluded that you have sufficiently demonstrated how you intend to handle the situation differently in the future.
“The panel was of the view that you have shown well-developed insight into your failings.”
Punishment
The panel ruled that a striking-off order, which would ban Mr Corral from working as a nurse, would be “disproportionate”.
It instead ruled that the nurse would have to work under certain conditions for 18 months.
He will be required to undertake training in managing medicines safely, and will only be able to dispense medicines under supervision.
A spokesperson for Mr Corral’s legal team said: “The firm and our client have nothing to add to the findings of the panel.”