Nurse With TB Stuck Off Register, UK

Main Category: Medical Malpractice / Litigation
Also Included In: Nursing / Midwifery
Article Date: 04 Mar 2008 - 3:00 PDT

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A 44 year old registered adult nurse who failed to disclose that she had been diagnosed with pulmonary tuberculosis has been struck of the Nursing and Midwifery Council register for putting patients and colleagues risk.

Ms Elsie Maphanga, from Weston-Super-Mare, England was not present nor represented at the three day hearing in London when the independent panel of the Nursing and Midwifery Council Conduct and Competence Committee heard evidence both from witnesses who attended the hearing and various exhibits and documents proving the allegations.

Ms Maphanga applied for employment as a Bank Nurse with Belmont Care Limited at Norewood Lodge Nursing Home, Portishead and falsely declarated that she had never suffered from any chest infection, when in fact she had been diagnosed in 1984 with pulmonary tuberculosis.

Subsequently, in 2005 she worked at the Nursing Home on four occasions after being told by her General Practitioner that she was suffering from pulmonary tuberculosis and should not be working there. She also failed to inform the Registered Manager that she had been diagnosed with pulmonary tuberculosis.

These failures were repeated when she falsely completed a declaration of health for the Laurel Courl Care Home, Nailsea by Southern Cross Healthcare and failed to inform the Home Manager that she was suffering from a persistent cough.

Commenting on the decision to strike Ms Maphanga off the register, NMC spokeswoman Leila Harris said: "There has been a serious departure from the standards expected of her as a registered nurse. Her repeated dishonest conduct and her reckless practice in exposing vulnerable patients to risk fundamentally undermines the confidence the public are entitled to have in the profession. In the interests of public protection given the seriousness of the misconduct the panel have decided that a striking off order is the only appropriate sanction in this case."

The Nursing & 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 686,000. The Nursing and Midwifery Order 2001 (The Order), sets out the NMC's role and responsibilities.

Nursing & Midwifery Council