Second Chance Nurse Struck Off, UK

Main Category: Nursing / Midwifery
Also Included In: Litigation / Medical Malpractice
Article Date: 07 Dec 2007 - 4:00 PDT

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A 51 year old nurse from Bradford received was struck off the Nursing and Midwifery register on 3 November 2007, at a Conduct and Competence hearing in London.

Ms Eva Serenio had been previously issued with a Conditions of Practice Order for a period of 12 months in 2006.

The independent panel of the Nursing and Midwifery Council's (NMC) Conduct and Competence Committee met recently to review the order and to determine if she had sufficiently improved her skills in order to be restored to full practice.

The independent panel were presented with evidence that showed she had not complied with the order. In order to ensure the continued protection of the public, the panel decided that she should be permanently removed from the NMC register.

Commenting on the outcome of the hearing, NMC spokesperson Leila Harris said,

"The panel reached this decision having heard the evidence that proved she had not met the Conditions of Practice Order. She had been given the opportunity to improve her skills with the aim of being restored to full practice, but she failed to meet any of the conditions she'd been given. The independent panel felt that in order to protect the public and maintain public confidence in the profession, it was necessary to strike her off the register."

- The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) is the UK regulator for two professions, nursing and midwifery. The primary purpose of the NMC is protection of the public. It does this through maintaining a register of all nurses, midwives and specialist community public health nurses eligible to practise within the UK and by setting standards for their education, training and conduct. Currently the number of registrants exceeds 682,000. The Nursing and Midwifery Order 2001 (The Order), sets out the NMC's role and responsibilities.

- The independent panel is selected from a pool of individuals appointed by the Appointments Board. They come from a variety of backgrounds and are not NMC Council members, nor do they sit on any committee of the Council.

- Conditions previously set on 07.11.2006:

To make a Conditions of Practice Order for the period of 12 months:

1. You must allow the NMC to exchange information with your employer or any organisation for which you provide nursing services and any individual involved in retraining and supervision.

2. You must notify the NMC promptly of any professional appointment you accept and provide the contact details of your employer and supervisor.

3. Whilst subject to this Condition of Practice Order, when you are employed or providing services which require you to be registered with the NMC, you must place yourself and remain under the supervision of a workplace supervisor nominated by your employer. You must provide the NMC with the name and contact details of your supervisor as soon as possible after this has been established.

4. You must work with your supervisor to formulate a Personal Development Plan specifically designed to address the deficiencies in the following area of your practice: the administration and checking of drugs.

5. You must meet with the supervisor on a regular basis to discuss your progress towards achieving the aims set out in your Personal Development Plan. The frequency of your meetings is to be set by your supervisor. Your portfolio of evidence must include evidence of ward-based assessments in drug administration. A summary report and a copy of your portfolio must be forwarded to the NMC when your Condition of Practice Order is reviewed. Your supervisor should accompany you to the review hearing.

6. You must not work in the practice area of neonatal and paediatric care during the period when these Conditions of Practice are in force.

7. You must permit the NMC to disclose the above Conditions of Practice to any person requesting information about your registration status.

8. You must make yourself familiar with the NMC Code of conduct and the guidelines for the safe administration of medicines.

The Nursing and Midwifery Council