A Fife nurse who failed to give drugs to stroke victims, and covered it up on records, has been given a three-year caution.
Wendy Syme, a staff nurse on the stroke ward at Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy, admitted all the charges made against her at a hearing of the Nursing and Midwifery Council’s conduct and competence hearing.
Fayza Benlamkadem, case presenter for the NMC legal team, said Ms Syme’s actions had put vulnerable patients at risk of harm and asked the panel to consider why she had given medication to one patient who was able to communicate and not the others.
The incidents happened when Ms Syme was on night duty over several days in October 2010 when she did not administer a variety of drugs to several patients on the ward.
She then incorrectly signed records to say that she had given the medication to the patients, the majority of whom were unable to speak or communicate clearly.
There are routinely two staff nurses on night shifts, each responsible for different areas of the ward and bays.
It was Ms Syme’s concerned colleagues who raised the alarm.
Each patient has a metal cabinet, called a POD, which contain their medication.
On October 29 a colleague counted the medication contained in the POD and again when Ms Syme handed over to her the following morning and discovered the contents remained the same.
Further checks were carried out on the following days.
During a meeting with the nurse manager she initially denied failing to give out the medication but later said she did not know what had happened and by the end of the meeting had accepted she had signed for medication not given.
Representing Ms Syme, Wilma Brown from Unison said that before the incident she had worked for NHS Fife for 20 years without cause for concern and had an otherwise unblemished career.
She told the panel of personal and health issues Ms Syme had at the time and said she had been unable to recall the details of these shifts and life in general at that time.
Ms Brown explained Ms Syme had been wrongfully arrested when a colleague had reported the theft of drugs to police.
Ms Syme had, she said, been arrested on the ward and subjected to “harrowing investigation and search procedures” which she found traumatic.
Police found there was no basis for the allegations against her and she was released without further charge or investigation.
Ms Brown also claimed there had been a culture of bullying on the ward and Ms Syme did not feel fully supported.
The nurse was ashamed of her actions and understood she had put vulnerable patients at risk of harm and had brought the profession into disrepute.
The panel was satisfied Ms Syme had remedied her misconduct and noted she had been fully supported by her employer since she returned to work.
She underwent a supervision period and had worked for more than two years without cause for concern in “a very different and challenging area”.
The panel accepted that she was now diligent in her record keeping and was satisfied there was a low risk of repeating her misconduct. Senior colleagues said she was a valued member of the team.
The panel felt a caution order would satisfy the wider public interest.