Lancaster care home nurse struck off by NMC after giving unprescribed medication and trying to frame colleague

A hearing, which concluded earlier this month, found that Susan Parkinson incorrectly gave two doses of Lansoprazole (used to control stomach acid) to a resident at Moorside Nursing Home in 2021, and then incorrectly filled in the medical adminstration chart - for the next day, and then to create the impression that a colleague made the drug mistake, when they had not.

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All allegations were proved at an NMC hearing in Ms Parkinson’s absence. In a statement from 2021, Ms Parkinson said she altered the initials to protect a junior member of staff, but the panel did not believe her explanation, as it made “no sense”.

In an email she also wrote: “I was honest and made a mistake in a toxic workplace where worse mistakes had been mafe [sic] and hidden.”

Panel decision

The panel was of the view that Ms Parkinson’s actions fell significantly short of the standards expected of a registered nurse, and although the medication and date errors were deemed ‘minor mistakes’, they found that her subsequent “calculated” dishonesty amounted to serious misconduct.

Members said they found Ms Parkinson’s reflective document “a less than impressive reflection of the incident”, which blamed others and was factually incorrect. They decided that her misconduct had brought the nursing profession into disrepute and were not persuaded that this would not happen again in the future given their concerns about the reflective document and her non-attendance.

A statement says: “In light of the lack of engagement and remediation from Ms Parkinson, the panel was not satisfied that the public would be protected. The panel therefore decided that a finding of impairment is necessary on the grounds of public protection.”

The panel concluded that the placing of conditions on Ms Parkinson’s registration would not adequately address the seriousness of this case and could not protect the public, and that a suspension order would not be a sufficient, appropriate or proportionate sanction.

Ms Parkinson, who qualified as a nurse in 2006, will be struck off the register as long as no appeal is made. She was given a 28-day window from April 10.

Moorside Care Home has been approached for comment.