Nurse struck off after lying about performing CPR on care home resident
A nurse has been struck off after lying about performing CPR on a patient who had suffered a fall and later died.
Afzal Sharif, a registered nurse at Astley Hall Care Home, near Stourport, faced eight charges relating to a resident of the care home who'd had a fall and was found on the floor with 'a graze and bruise above her right eye' on January 6, 2022.
Upon the discovery - by a different carer - Sharif was informed, who documented the physical signs in the accident report and called emergency services.
After moving the resident to her bed, ambulance crews arrived but by that point the resident had died.
In a report produced by the Nursing and Midwifery Council Fitness to Practise Committee, Sharif faced eight charges including lying about giving the resident CPR.
Of the eight accusations, the only one that was found 'not proved' was 'not carrying out the correct procedure to verify the death, upon becoming aware the resident had died.'
The hearing panel noted that in a disciplinary hearing, Mr Sharif said: "I lie when I panic".
Sharif did not attend the hearing, but was confirmed by a representative from the Royal College of Nursing that he is 'no longer working as a nurse and has no desire to work as a nurse in the future.'
According to the report, the panel found that Sharif’s actions "did fall seriously short of the conduct and standards expected of a nurse and amounted to misconduct".
It said: "The panel especially noted that the lack of providing CPR and dishonesty are both extremely serious breaches of the fundamental tenets of safe nursing practice".
It then outlined that the panel considered the case "very carefully" and came to the conclusion to make a striking-off order.
Managing director of the Heritage Manor group, which runs the care home, Simon Patient said: “We have high expectations of our staff to always act with the upmost integrity and honesty. On the morning of January 6, 2022, Mr Sharif fell clearly short of these expectations.
“Trust requires us to always tell the truth, and it was a breach of this trust that led to the immediate suspension of Mr Sharif, and his subsequent dismissal.
“We referred his actions to the NMC at that time, and co-operated with their investigation.
“The sudden death of resident E was later found by the coroner to be due to natural causes, but nevertheless we remain truly sorry for the distress caused by Mr Sharif’s actions.”