Nurse reprimanded after failing to perform CPR on care home resident he believed had already died

A nurse has been reprimanded by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) after depriving a care home resident of ‘any chance he had to survive’, by failing to commence cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

Philip Banks, who was the only registered nurse on shift when the incident took place at Roseway House care home in Jarrow, Tyne and Wear, also called the NHS non-emergency helpline 111 almost an hour after the incident, instead of 999.

The NMC conduct and competence committee heard that Mr Banks was working a night shift on 18 June 2015 when, at 7am he and a healthcare assistant found the patient, described as resident A, in an unresponsive state ‘not breathing but still warm to the touch’.

The committee report of the hearing said that the healthcare assistant and Mr Banks considered resident A had died.

It was alleged that Mr Banks, who has been registered as a nurse since 2002, did not attempt to perform CPR on the resident even though there was no do not attempt resuscitation order in place.

Failures

He also failed to follow the home’s death notification procedure and failed to ensure that resident A’s body was left untouched and that the room was treated as a crime scene.

The home conducted an internal investigation, but no disciplinary action was taken as Mr Banks resigned from his post prior to the conclusion of the disciplinary process.

The NMC panel found that in all the circumstances, as a registered nurse, Mr Banks had a duty to preserve life and therefore to commence CPR.

The panel found his fitness to practice was impaired by reason of his misconduct, and imposed an 18-month conditions of practice order.

'Deprived of chance'

They added that by virtue of his failure to commence CPR on resident A, Mr Banks deprived him of any chance he had to survive, brought the profession into disrepute and breached fundamental tenets of the nursing profession.

Mr Banks, did not attend the hearing and has been working at another home since the incident.

His current manager gave evidence to the committee and stated she had ‘no concerns at all’ about the way he had dealt with deaths at the home. 

The committee found that the incident occurred 'on a single shift in Mr Banks’ otherwise unblemished career'.

It imposed conditions of practice on Mr Banks including working under supervision and creating a personal development plan designed to address the concerns about his practice with a particular emphasis on the identification and management of cardiac arrest.

The home is now run by Careport, who took over from Orchard Care Homes in July 2016.

Careport commercial director Ralf Wilson said: ‘It would be inappropriate to comment directly on the disciplinary process in this case, but the staff who currently work at Roseway are hardworking and dedicated.’

The NMC cautioned a nurse in January who admitted misconduct after failing to resuscitate a care home resident she believed has already died.

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