Nurse forged papers and gave injection to screaming child

A SENIOR children’s nurse at the Kent and Canterbury Hospital labelled one of his files “spastics” and committed a string of workplace offences including forging paperwork and failing to check blood tests, a medical hearing was told.

Matthew Griffith-Davies also injected a cancer patient with drugs as the youngster screamed, and failed to order chemotherapy for another cancer patient.

He was employed as lead nurse in the Community Children’s Nursing (CNN) at the hospital in Ethelbert Road between early 2009 and January 2010 when he quit after revelations about his standard of work.

Griffith-Davies’s case came before a hearing of the Nursing Midwifery Council in London this week.

Allegations against him involve his work with 10 patients at the hospital and with seven nurses from the CNN who went on home visits with Griffith-Davies.

These include injecting a child with the drug Vincristine after the youngster shouted at him to stop, not ordering chemotherapy for another cancer sufferer and taking two days to check the result of a blood test.

Neil Moloney, for the Nursing and Midwifery Council, said: “‘The allegations relate to inadequate patient care, poor clinical and procedural knowledge, inappropriate advice to patients at risk, providing inadequate support to CNN team members and not ensuring controlled drugs in a patient’s property were recorded.”

The hearing was also told that Griffith-Davies labelled a file on his computer “spastics” and had acted in an aggressive way towards a colleague.

He admits all the allegations except being aggressive and inappropriately naming folders on his desktop.

In evidence to the hearing, his boss Kerry-Anne Hatcher said she had found attempts he had made to forge certificates.

She said: “‘The folder contained documents which appeared to be Matthew’s attempts at making his own learning development certificates.

“I was concern at the fact he used the word ‘spastics’ as part of the folder name, as it is obviously derogatory.

“This certainly raised an issue about trust, feeling that if he is forging things now, what other things had he forged?”

Mrs Hatcher said Griffith-Davies had impressed during his interview in January 2009, but admitted few questions were asked about his previous clinical experience.

She went on: “Despite his bravado and outward persona, Matthew failed to reach the standards expected of a nurse.

“He made huge fundamental mistakes which you would not expect from any band of nurse. He was way below the standard of any working nurse.”

Griffith-Davies quit working at the hospitals trust in January 2010 and has not turned up for the hearing, which continues.