'Negligent' nurse Parulben Patel spared jail after leaving man to die
by Keith Hunt
A nurse who failed to resuscitate a
care home resident after he suffered a heart attack has been
punished with 100 hours’ unpaid work.
Parulben Patel, who has been suspended
and will no longer be allowed to work with vulnerable patients, was
spared jail.
The single mother, 39, of Station
Road, Longfield, last month denied ill-treatment or neglect of a
person who lacks capacity, but was convicted.
A jury heard how Patel refused to
perform CPR on John Rudderham, 90, at Hazelwood Nursing Home in
Longfield.
Mr Rudderham would have died anyway,
but Patel - who was the nurse in charge - did not know that at the
time, said a judge.
The prosecution said Patel failed to
give him CPR, despite being fully trained in the procedure and the
home having a policy that it should be carried out if the resident
did not have a "do not resuscitate" order.
Judge David Caddick said the fact that
performing CPR on the patient would have been in vain did not
excuse her wilful neglect, adding: "It could have been otherwise
and the consequences of your wilful neglect would have been much
more serious. In that case, the court would be taking a much more
serious view of your offence."
Mark Dacey, defending, said Patel came
to the UK in 2003 and qualified as a nurse in 2005. Her work in the
caring profession had been impeccable.
Mr Dacey said: "She has now lost her
good character. She is currently suspended. The nursing council
will have to deal with this matter."
Judge Caddick said the maximum
sentence for the offence was five years’ imprisonment, but he did
not consider Patel’s case warranted jail.
"You neglected to do your duty," said
the judge. "Why you neglected to do so, you never made clear. It
was a conscious decision by you.
"Your suggestion that the patient
started breathing again and was breathing when the ambulance
arrived was plainly wrong."
A clinical adviser had repeated
several times on the telephone that CPR should be performed on the
patient immediately. Three times Patel stated she was not allowed
to do so.
"You are allowed to do so, indeed you
are trained to do so," said Judge Caddick. "Your professional code
required you to do so."
18/04/12
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