Deputy head nurse banned from work

Bungling Sheila Cockx, 60, made a series of basic errors after returning from a three-month suspension from duty.

Cockx had to ask junior colleagues at Peterhouse Care Home, in Church Street, Bexhill-on-Sea, East Sussex,how to use a digital thermometer and take a patient's blood pressure.

She also failed to hand out the daily medicine for four frail patients.

Two months later on November 9, 2004, she was suspended for a second time after giving an elderly man a dangerous overdose of the drug Hyoscine.

Cockx set his syringe driver to give him the drug over one hour instead of 24 hours.

The mistake was only noticed by a night shift nurse who found the patient - known only as E - feeling dry, flushed and uncomfortable.

Fortunately the patient did not suffer any long term effects.

Fellow nurse, Hazel Silverlock, told the panel although Cockx was 'kind, caring and compassionate' towards patients, she did not know how anything worked.

Ms Silverlock said: 'When she came back from her three-month suspension there was a marked change.

'There were procedures I needed to go through with her.

'It appeared while she was off she had lost confidence in her skills.'

Ms Silverlock, who was trained by Cockx when she first started at the home, said the nurse had started asking questions like a student nurse and needed 'constant reassurance'.

Cockx, of Bexhill-on-Sea, East Sussex, admitted forgetting to give four patients their drugs and giving patient E an overdose.

She claimed she had made errors because she was under pressure and stress when she returned from her three months off work in July 2004.

'I was going back to work not feeling like I had the full support I needed.'

'I think if I hadn't been under the stress and pressure I felt I probably would have been much better.'

She denied not meeting targets set by her manager in the form of monthly reviews and failing to demonstrate understanding of basic nursing requirements.

The Nursing and Midwifery Council found Cock's fitness to practise to be impaired by reason of her lack of competence.

They decided to suspend her registration for a year for the protection of the public.

Panel chair Linda Read said: 'It is the responsibility of the registered nurse to maintain professional skills and competence through out their working life.'

'A registered nurse must acknowledge limits of her professional competence.'

'Between July and 9 November 2005 you demonstrated a lack of competence in that you failed to meet your objectives.

'This was particularly important because after your first suspension you insisted you wanted to continue as deputy head of care.

'There is evidence that your behaviour caused direct harm to the patient and the committee has not being made aware of any rehabilitative steps taken.'

The NMC will have to review the suspension before the one year ban expires.

However, once Cockx has been suspended for more than two years the NMC can have her struck off.