A children's nurse left a young patient with complex health needs in a soiled bed as she napped in an eye mask.
Mrs Lorna Dale Willis has been suspended from nursing after a tribunal found she fell seriously short of the conduct and standards expected, following the shift at the boy’s Kent home.
After the child’s parents raised concerns regarding Willis, the agency she worked for, Unity Care Solutions, reviewed CCTV footage of the night.
Speaking at the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) hearing which concluded on August 14, the agency’s coordination team leader described the footage.
“[Willis] had her back to the client for a significant amount of time during the shift, appears to be asleep, mask positioned over eyes and on one occasion also puts on dark glasses,” they said.
“The client uses signing as his form of communication so therefore you need to be able to always see him visually to enable him to communicate his needs.”
The panel also heard how at numerous points during the video Willis’ head drops and then appears to suddenly jerk upright.
The NMC and Unity Care Solutions, which has offices in Kent, Sussex and Southampton, declined to tell KentOnline which part of the county the incident took place.
The panel heard the boy’s needs include tube feeding, tracheostomy care, coughing assistance and full personal care.
Describing the night shift, the Unity Care team leader went on: “It was only noted around 6.20am that his bed sheets were wet as he did not have a pad on during the night.
“He first urinated at around 1.20am then again at 1.40am, therefore he had been laying on wet bedding and wet clothing for a significant length of time.”
Willis had been working with the child for two to three nights per week for about five weeks before his parents raised concerns about the care he was getting.
‘He had been laying on wet bedding and wet clothing for a significant length of time...’
The hearing also heard how during the overnight shift in August, 2022, Willis has neglected to reposition the patient, check his tracheostomy site or his continence.
Furthermore, it found that despite Willis documenting that she had repositioned the child’s saturation probe, in fact she had not done so. Willis said that in a letter that the documentation was an honest mistake - not intentional dishonesty.
Willis did not attend the week-long hearing, but in the undated letter sent to its panel, she denied dosing off during the August 1, 2022, nightshift. However, the tribunal members found the allegation she had fallen asleep to be proven.
“I was not asleep although my eyes were covered by my face mask or when my back was turned to the child,” said Willis.
“I was not aware that my eyes should be constantly on the child. After further reflections I looked at my behaviour and saw that it was wrong of me.
“I would never knowingly leave a child in wet clothing because it is uncomfortable and it’s not showing dignity to the child.
“And to be honest when I saw that the child was wet I was very upset because I have never encountered him not wearing his night pad on any of the occasion I have looked after him but on this occasion his dad had forgotten to put his night pad on.”
The NMC panel noted that Willis had demonstrated some remorse, regret and there was some recognition that she did not perform her duties appropriately, but also bore in mind that the patient was vulnerable and completely reliant on his carers to provide him with care and keep him safe.
The panel imposed an interim suspension order for a period of 18 months.
If after 28 days, Willis has not appealed the decision, the 12 month suspension with a review at the end will come into force.
KentOnline understand Willis no longer lives in the UK.
A Unity Care Solutions spokesperson said: “We take our responsibility to safeguard our clients and families very seriously and when any allegations are made, we follow internal and local policies and procedures very closely.
“In this instance, concerns were raised regarding the conduct of Ms Willis and a full and thorough investigation was undertaken promptly.
“One of the outcomes of our internal investigation was that a referral to the NMC was required.
“We have cooperated fully with the NMC throughout their investigations and review of the case to ensure that the right decisions were able to be made in the interest of public safety.
“Ms Willis is no longer an employee of Unity Care Solutions.”
Courts Health Kent James Pallant
