Stafford Hospital nurse chief left patients at risk
The former head of nursing at Stafford Hospital has been found guilty of leaving patients in danger during her eight-year spell in charge.
Janice Harry, 60, failed to ensure there were adequate staff in the A&E department, a tribunal has heard.
She was also criticised for not ensuring that her colleagues provided patient dignity and privacy in the Emergency Admission Unit (EAU) between 2004 and 2006. She also failed to ensure there was appropriate food and drink in the unit, the panel concluded.
She will also be reprimanded for using inappropriate language towards a colleague after telling her that she was a 'waste of space'. Mrs Harry also asked whether patients were 'going to heaven soon' to see if a bed was coming free, the Nursing and Midwifery Council heard.
The misconduct panel in London yesterday found Mrs Harry guilty of a catalogue of poor management and exposing patients to 'risk' and 'danger' during her time in charge of nursing at the hospital, between 1998 and 2006.
William Davis, for the NMC, said Mrs Harry presided over an 'unacceptable decline in the standards of nursing care offered' at the hospital. "She wholly failed to ensure appropriate staffing levels, and the correct skill mix," he said. "She adopted an aggressive management style," he added.
She denied all the charges against her, claiming her role was to give professional advice rather than to manage. "Operationally you have to devolve it," she said. "You cannot manage 2,500 staff directly."
Mrs Harry was found guilty of putting patients at risk with inadequate nursing levels and standards, poor record keeping, and failing to maintain and provide proper levels of nutrition and fluid.
She was cleared of charges relating to cleanliness and hygiene, inappropriate handling of incident forms, telling staff off, reducing a colleague to tears and disregarding staff concerns, among other allegations.
The panel will now decide what sanctions to impose on the nurse, who could be struck off.
