Nurse rapped over ‘dishonest’ actions

A DUNDEE nurse has been labelled “dishonest” by a medical board after giving the wrong medicine to patients.

Andrew Anderson tried to conceal his errors while working as a staff nurse at Ninewells Hospital. He faced a Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) hearing for the offences, which were committed between May 2014 and January 2015.

Anderson administered dalteparin, which is used to prevent blood clots, on May 12 2014 and vancomycin, an antibiotic, on June 28 2014 to two separate patients when they were not prescribed the medicine.

On January 27 2015, Anderson administered 50mg of morphine sulphate to a patient when only 40mg had been prescribed.

The nurse did not tell a senior nurse or doctor about his error and deliberately attempted to conceal it. An NMC panel heard Anderson, a staff nurse at Ninewells since 2007, admitted he had “no good reason” for delaying reporting the incident.

Anderson also said he was reluctant to come forward about the mistake as it would have had a “negative impact” on him.

In 2013, Anderson was transferred to Ward 8 of Ninewells after administering the wrong medication to a patient in Ward 7. He admitted acting dishonestly despite previously claiming ward workload and the influence of another staff member were to blame. In a statement to the panel, he said: “Along with the remorse and guilt I felt for my actions was the knowledge that although none of the patients in my care suffered any harm, the potential for harm occurring to them was a very real prospect.

“I learned after a great deal of soul searching that there was one constant in all of these errors. That was me.

“One can cite ambient factors, staffing, tiredness and interruptions as contributory factors, but the fact remains that these errors were my fault.

“I now accept though that I had a duty to report it instantly and opportunities to report it before I did.”

He was issued with a one-year conditions of practice order by the NMC whereby he is banned from administering medicine and must complete a medication administration course.

An NHS Tayside spokeswoman said: “We do not comment on matters relating to individual members of staff.”

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Ninewells Hospital