A senior nurse has been struck off for multiple failings at a nursing home she managed for six years.
Mary Philomena Flanagan was found guilty of managing a home where disposable wipes were washed and re-used, hot water was lacking, and where carers were warned not to complain about management.
Ms Flanagan, who was in charge of the home between January 2002 and November 2008, was struck off by the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (NMBI).
The findings, which have just been published on the NMBI website, found that Ms Flanagan had overseen the treatment of two male patients who had tissue inserted into their rectums when suffering from diarrhoea. She supervised the washing and re-use of disposable wipes and failed to ensure there was suitable equipment to prevent infection in the home. The inquiry also said medication was found on the floor and in beds.
Equipment, beds and cot sides were not maintained properly, while hoists to lift residents were inadequate under Ms Flanagan’s care, the inquiry found. Bathing facilities and continence care for residents were deficient and there was a shortage of hot water and heating. Rodent control was also lacking in the nursing home.
Advertisement
Ms Flanagan was severely criticised for her treatment of the two male patients with diarrhoea who had been “plugged” using tissue paper. After one of the men died, his body was found to have been handled and moved in an inappropriate manner. The nurse also didn’t ensure that a female patient received proper care for an oozing discharge from her breast.
Carers at the nursing home were warned not to complain about or report any concerns they had about the management. Carers were asked to feed residents in a manner which the inquiry said was inappropriate and disrespectful.
In a separate NMBI inquiry, another nurse was struck off the register for professional misconduct over her treatment of two male patients with severe intellectual disability.
Aisling Mary Foster was the clinical nurse manager at a centre for people with intellectual disability in September 2010 at the time of the incidents under investigation. An inquiry found Ms Foster had slapped one patient on the head with her hand and spoke to him in an inappropriate or aggressive manner. She had also restricted the movement of his arm during the incident.
She had also leaned on a patient in an inappropriate manner while changing the dressing for a wound on his face. In October 2010, she removed the same patient from a room in an unnecessary and inappropriate manner, placed him outside in the garden and prevented him from re-entering the house. The inquiry found Ms Foster had failed to adhere properly to the patients care plans behavioural support and care plans and personal outcome measures for the two patients. She had also failed to properly report incidents involving the two male patients.
Advertisement
Meanwhile, a nurse who placed surgical tape over the mouth of a patient in a Sligo hospital to keep him quiet was censured and fined €2,000.
Bimbo Paden, a Filipino nurse at St John’s Community Hospital in Sligo, was found guilty on two charges of professional misconduct at a NMBI fitness to practise hearing last year. The sanctions against Mr Paden have just been made public.
During the hearing, conflicting evidence was heard over the adequacy of staffing on the ward at the time of the incident in June 2013. The NMBI also said conditions have been attached to the retention of Mr Paden’s name on the register of nurses.