Ebola nurse’s stress as investigation drags on
A SCOTTISH nurse who contracted ebola has spoken of her stress over misconduct allegations which remain unresolved more than 18 months on from her return to the UK with the virus.
Pauline Cafferkey was infected while working in Sierra Leone in December 2014.
Despite reporting that she had a high temperature after flying back to the UK, she was given tests then allowed to board a flight to Glasgow at Heathrow.
Eight hours after returning to her flat in Cambuslang, Lanarkshire, she contacted NHS and
‘It would be nice to get closure’
was admitted to hospital. She was then transferred to London’s Royal Free Hospital where she spent almost a month in an isolation unit.
Miss Cafferkey recovered but was readmitted to hospital twice after suffering complications linked to the disease. At one stage she fell critically ill.
In February last year it emerged that the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) was investigating her conduct after it was given information by Public Health England.
A preliminary hearing took place the following month but the case has not yet moved to a full hearing and remains at the investigation stage. The body has the power to strike nurses off the professional register.
Miss Cafferkey, 40, told The Sunday Telegraph: ‘The report on how they are dealing with my case is still ongoing. I don’t know why it has not been finished. It’s very stressful. It would be nice to have closure.’
A spokesman for the NMC said: ‘We can confirm that the NMC case regarding allegations of misconduct against Pauline Cafferkey is ongoing.
‘We are working closely with Ms Cafferkey and her representatives to ensure that we reach a resolution as quickly as possible that meets the public interest.
‘As the case is ongoing, we are not able to comment further.’
Miss Cafferkey has previously said she feared she might ‘die a horrible death’ after contracting the virus.
She does not know how she caught ebola but insisted she had no regrets about volunteering in the West African country.