A NURSING tribunal has heard how a terminal patient was left to suffer an excruciating death when he was not given his pain- relieving medication.

Witnesses described disturbing scenes of neglected patients screaming in pain and a woman who was left with skin hanging down over her eye from an untreated head wound.

Former colleagues of deputy nurse Katharine Gray (52) and charge nurse Janette Malcolm (56) have accused the pair of a catalogue of negligent errors at the Forebank Care Home in Dundee

Gray has also been accused of repeatedly removing vital dressings from a patient suffering from severe fluid retention, causing her skin to ‘burst open like a peach.’

Staff nurse Kirsten Halkett (39) accused Malcolm of leaving a dying patient screaming in pain during the last few days before his death.

She said, “Patient L was terminally ill and needed to be kept as comfortable as possible until he died.

“He needed diamorphine four times a day, but at night he was getting nothing.

“Jan Malcolm was on duty at night, I wasn’t on duty but I had to deal with him screaming in agony in the mornings because he hadn’t been given medication.”

Another nurse, Fiona Marrot (49) said a female patient, (patient D), who suffered a head wound from an accidental fall was left untreated in the communal sitting room by Gray, leaving her open to infections.

She said, “A carer told me that patient D had an accidental fall.

“She had a large skin flap on her head flopping down over her eye. The normal procedure would have been to care and dress it. Instead she was sitting in the lounge with other clients, exposed like that.

“It was a rough wound and you don’t leave it exposed. There were other clients there who could have had an MRSA.

“I took the patient into her room and tried to moisturise the skin and put a dressing on it.

“I asked Kath Gray and she said she thought it was better to leave the wound exposed. Then I reported it to the manager of the home and the other deputy.”

Mrs Marrot then described an alleged case of neglect by Gray, accusing her of repeatedly removing a female patient’s dressings, causing her skin to burst open.

She continued, “The lady had very swollen legs because of fluid retention, her skin started to break like a peach.

“I would put the dressing on in the morning and then when I came down an hour later it would be off and the lady would be exposed in public to other clients.

“It was Kath Gray taking the bandages off, not the patient.

“Kath didn’t understand the importance of this. The woman’s legs deteriorated over a period of time.

“The patient became extremely uncomfortable, breathless and sore, it was very unpleasant to watch.”

Malcolm and Gray both face being struck off by the nursing and midwifery council conduct and competence committee hearing, which is scheduled to conclude tomorrow.

On Monday, the committee heard how Malcolm allegedly left a male patient, who had fallen over, on the ground for 25 minutes while she completed a crossword puzzle.