A suspended nurse has been allowed back on the wards after a Nursing and Midwifery Council hearing was told she had a “difficult working relationship” with her previous employer.
Helen McLeish was suspended after leaving a post as a registered nurse at Moncreiffe Care Home in Perth for a job as a bank nurse at Kippen House Care Home in Dunning.
She was suspended on September 24 this year to allow an investigating committee to look into allegations related to her competence.
It is alleged that on February 27 2013, when a resident fell and sustained a skin tear, Ms McLeish cut up small pieces of non-sterile tape and applied them to the open wound, in contravention of the home’s tissue viability policy.
Additionally, it is claimed that she failed to complete the incident report properly and did not record the fall in the patient’s notes.
There is a further allegation of dishonestly stating that the deputy manager had told her to use the tape.
Further allegations state that Ms McLeish took twice as long as necessary to complete a medication round, incorrectly left a patient’s pain relief medication patch on overnight, and made a number of medication administration recording errors in March 2013 and May 2013.
She is also accused of giving incorrect information to a GP about a patient’s care, which led to the GP incorrectly attempting to discharge the patient.
It is also alleged that in April 2013 she arranged for a chiropodist to see a resident with dementia without obtaining prior consent from the resident’s family.
Solicitor Elena McLachlan, acting for Ms McLeish, presented the NMC with letters of support from registered nurses working alongside Ms McLeish in her new job.
She said Ms McLeish had been nursing for seven years without incident and said she accepted the incident with the tape was a “mistake”.
She added that, since moving jobs, Ms McLeish has undertaken additional training.
The NMC panel decided to replace the interim suspension with an interim conditions of practice order.
The investigating committee will continue to look into the allegations against Ms McLeish.