Lorraine Stevens, 61: Struck off (pic. WNS) 

A NURSE has been struck off after a patient died from downing a bottle of washing up liquid at a care home.

Lorraine Stevens, 61, didn’t raise the alarm when the man drank from the bottle – but instead made him drink several glasses of water to dilute it.

The patient was vomiting and frothing at the mouth, but Stevens waited nearly three hours to tell anyone else that he was unwell.

And when she did finally speak to her manager Stevens failed to mention how long he had been ill for, the misconduct hearing was told.

The disabled man – referred to only as Patient A – died the next morning.

Case presenter Gregory Wedge said: “Patient A reached through an open kitchen window and grabbed a bottle of washing up liquid, from which he drank an unknown quantity.

“The washing up liquid was promptly taken away from him and it is alleged that he was given glasses of water to drink.

“About 15 minutes after the incident, Patient A allegedly began coughing, vomiting and there was some foam at his mouth. He was given more water and continued to cough and vomit for 30 to 40 minutes.”

Mr Wedge said Stevens was the only qualified nurse at Begelly Bungalow in Begelly, Pembrokeshire, which housed four people with learning disabilities.

Patient A, who had been at the managed bungalow for just four months before his death, suffered brain damage at birth and had a history of trying to drink dangerous liquids.

But Stevens didn’t raise the alarm for two-and-a-half hours after he drank from the washing up bottle, and when she eventually did still failed to tell her manager the incident had happened hours beforehand.

The man collapsed at the bungalow around 8pm, some ten hours after consuming the liquid, and died in hospital early the following morning on July 13, 2013.

The Nurses and Midwifery Council also was told Stevens later mocked up risk assessment form for Patient A on the day his family came to collect his belongings.

The form said kitchen cupboards should be locked at the bungalow – but she didn’t point out it was written after his death.

Mr Wedge said Stevens had acted “dishonestly”.

He said: “She should have admitted that there was no risk assessment in place, rather than falsifying clinical documents in an attempt to create the impression that there had been one.”

Dyfed Powys Police investigated Stevens in connection with the man’s death, but no charges were ever brought to her or employers Hywel Dda University Health Board.

Panel chair Monica French told the hearing in Cardiff that Stevens’ actions “increased the risk of harm” to her patient.

She also said Stevens’ decision to leave her shift early on the day, leaving the “deteriorating” man to be cared for by staff without medical training, placed him at “an unwarranted risk of harm.”

Miss French said: “Stevens failed to ensure that Patient A was safe and to provide him with the high standard of care expected of her as a registered nurse.

“In addition, her dishonest actions in respect of the risk assessment were inconsistent with her obligations as a registered nurse.

“There was no evidence before the panel that Stevens had any insight or remorse into the potential gravity of her actions and omissions or their impact.”

Stevens, from Pembroke Dock, was given a struck off the nurses register, and will not be able to reapply for five years.

Speaking at her home, she said: “I don’t want to talk about it.”