A NURSE has been struck off after lying about performing CPR on a patient who died shortly after a fall.
The actions of Afzal Sharif, who was employed as a registered nurse at Astley Hall Care Home near Stourport, fell "seriously short" of the standards expected, a Nursing and Midwifery Council misconduct hearing heard.
According to charges made against Mr Sharif, the nurse didn't use the emergency bell to get help for the care home resident who had fallen, didn't designate staff to help with the situation and didn't perform CPR on the resident when he was supposed to.
A charge also outlined that the nurse told paramedics that he had performed CPR on the patient, referred to as Resident E in the hearing report, when he hadn't.
The hearing panel noted that in a disciplinary hearing, Mr Sharif said: "I lie when I panic".
Mr Sharif did not attend the hearing and a representative from the Royal College of Nursing confirmed to the panel that he "is not working as a nurse and has no desire to work as a nurse in the future".
The representative also confirmed that Mr Sharif "does not accept the charges."
The charges relate to an incident on January 6, 2022, when Mr Sharif was working a night shift as the sole registered nurse in charge with four carers assisting.
A carer reported around 6.15am to Mr Sharif that she had found a resident on the floor with a graze and bruise above her right eye and that they were conscious after suffering a suspected fall.
When Mr Sharif arrived in her bedroom, he observed and documented in the accident report that there was a skin graze on her right eye and called emergency services to inform them of her injury and later to advise them of her deteriorating condition.
At some point between 6.15am and 6.38am Mr Sharif moved the resident into her bed. The deputy manager arrived for the day shift and she was met at the door by Mr Sharif who informed her that there was an incident. The ambulance crew arrived just after 7am by which point the resident had died.
According to the hearing report, the panel found that Mr 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 outlined that the panel considered the case "very carefully" and decided to make a striking-off order.
Simon Patient, managing director of the Heritage Manor group, which runs the care home, said: “We have high expectations of our staff to always act with the upmost integrity and honesty. On the morning of 6th January 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.”
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