BANKOLE: PATIENT GIVEN WRONG DRUGS AFTER NURSE MISREAD PAPERWORK
A nurse gave a dementia patient a high-strength anti-depressant instead of prescribed blood pressure medication, a hearing was told today (Mon).
Theo Bankole, 59, misread medical records and gave the wrong drug despite concerns over the dosage called for, the Nursing and Midwifery Council heard.
He mixed up the blood thinner diltiazem and painkiller diazepam while working at Liverpool’s Mossley Hill Hospital.
Ward manager Irene Christie said Bankole had been working an overtime shift on the hospital’s Acorn dementia ward on January 17, 2008.
She told the panel he had given 2mg of diazepam to ‘Patient B’, rather than the 20mg of diltiazem called for because he was concerned that the dosage was too high.
It was only afterwards he raised his concerns with her, she said.
‘I immediately recognised that it wasn’t diazepam [on the prescription].
‘If a nurse has doubts about the medication prescribed, they should ask for a second opinion from a qualified colleague.
‘They should not give the medication just in case.’
‘If you’ve got any doubts it’s just good practice to check with somebody to make sure.
‘Even if you can’t find someone straight away, it’s just good practice to make sure.’
She added: ‘I told him that he would have to speak to the consultant, inform the family and that he needed to write an incident report form.
‘He was absolutely horrified and really upset.’
Bankole claimed Patient B’s medical records had not been clearly written and was too distraught to finish the shift, she said.
Four months earlier, in September 2007, Bankole had left a hospital clerk in charge of another patient, the hearing was told.
The man, referred to only as Patient A, suffered a fall while Bankole left the ward to take a phone call.
He apologised and promised not to repeat his actions, the panel was told.
Bankole, who resigned following the January incident, admits inadequately supervising Patient A and delegating supervision to an inappropriate member of staff.
He further admits giving the wrong drug to Patient B despite doubts about the prescription, but denies that his fitness to practice is impaired.
If found guilty of misconduct he could be thrown out of the profession.
The hearing continues.
ends
