Midwife who made 57 errors banned

A NINEWELLS midwife is set to be banned from the profession for committing more than 50 errors in the space of just three months.

Louise Kennedy faked records and failed to follow correct procedures, including failing to get permission before carrying out intimate examinations of women.

She also sent a mum back to the antenatal (pre-birth) ward as she went into labour – and claimed to have discharged the grieving mum of a stillborn who had in fact left Ninewells without her knowledge.

In all Kennedy, a registered midwife for more than a decade, either admitted or was found to have committed 57 misdemeanours against four pregnant women.

The charges, from June-September 2016, were set against her at a Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) tribunal over the course of seven months.

The panel heard that Kennedy had been employed by NHS Tayside since 2011, initially as a temporary member of staff, before becoming permanent in 2012.

Her misconduct began in June 2016, when she falsified records and failed to flag up changes i n a patient’s condition to senior staff.

On September 6 and 7 the same year, she failed to document vital elements of a woman’s birth, and sent her back to the antenatal ward despite being in labour.

And on September 7, in relation to another woman, she gave a second opinion on a foetal heartbeat graph when her training on observing them had lapsed.

Her most grievous errors occurred on September 10 and 11, when a Bulgarian woman in her care gave birth to a stillborn baby.

Kennedy failed to seek a translator for the woman, who spoke no English, failed to properly log the traumatic i ncident and falsely claimed to have discharged the woman, who had in fact left of her own accord two hours earlier.

NHS Tayside carried out an investigation and subsequently sacked Kennedy in February 2017 – confirmed to the Tele by health chiefs.

Reviewing evidence from Kennedy, witnesses and paperwork relating to the patients, the NMC panel found the midwife had shown “limited insight” into the impact of her actions.

Dismissing her, it said, would “send a clear message” to the public about those who flout the rules. She has 90 days to appeal the ruling.

“The panel determined your conduct was a significant departure from the standards expected of a registered midwife,” it concluded.

Kennedy was approached for comment.

Ninewells