A Perthshire nurse has been left with his career in tatters after failing to protect confidential patient records.
Alan Reid allowed the paperwork to be in full view in his car while working as a community nurse based at Crieff and Comrie medical centres.
At a Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) hearing, Reid, who was not present or represented, was struck off the register.
The conduct and competence committee that considered the records breach and other allegations concluded: “The panel is satisfied that, by his actions, Mr Reid has put patients at unwarranted risk of harm, brought the profession into disrepute, breached fundamental tenets of the profession and acted dishonestly.
“The panel has determined that Mr Reid’s dishonest behaviour is fundamentally incompatible with remaining on the NMC register.”
The committee heard evidence from the district nursing sister at Crieff Medical Centre. She was accompanying Mr Reid on his rounds on November 21 2012 and waiting at his car when she realised a confidential patient record could be seen in the vehicle.
In a judgment, the NMC said: “She immediately recognised a short-term record for a patient on the back seat of the car. The name, partial address and the visits completed for that patient were clearly visible.
“(She) told the panel she had informed Mr Reid that the document was visible to the general public.”
The woman noted that the last time that patient had been visited was on September 28 that year and presumed the document must have been in the car for the 53 days since.
She said Mr Reid should have returned to the office with the patient notes or kept them in the patient’s home to ensure they were kept safely and securely.
When questioned about the incident by the community nurse team leader at Comrie Medical Centre, Mr Reid denied the documents had been visible, claiming it was hidden by a blanket. However, the nursing watchdog preferred the sister’s evidence and found the facts proven.
The panel also found to be proven a string of charges in relation to Mr Reid’s competence and honesty.
On October 29 2012, he failed to report an error made by a colleague in relation to the application of a painkiller patch for Patient A, telling neither the charge nurse nor the patient’s GP the drug had been given a day later than prescribed. He also failed to record this in the patient’s notes and failed to complete an incident form.
While working at the Cornhill Macmillan Unit in Perth Royal Infirmary on April 20 2012, he told colleagues a man, known as Patient G, was to be resuscitated if necessary, when, in fact, the man had signed a do not resuscitate order. Reid also failed to record the existence of such an order in the man’s medical notes.
On the same date Reid failed to note that Patient H had been given 10mg of Cetirizine, and failed to retrospectively update the notes the following day.