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Hospital nurse who 'dragged' dementia patient and forcibly gave wrong dose of drug asks to be struck off

The nurse worked at the Western General hospital

A watchdog found actions of Carol Picton who worked in the stroke unit at Western General Hospital to be ‘deplorable’ and ‘abusive’.

Miss Picton dragged a patient back to her room, tilted her bed so she was stuck there and ‘attempted to give an incorrect dose’ of sedation drug Haloperidol – twice.

A colleague said Picton had spent an hour alone with the woman in her room with the lights off as she ‘screamed in distress’.

Picton was reported to health chiefs after a colleague raised the alarm and she initially denied the allegations. She later admitted she was ‘not fit to practise’ and asked to be struck off the register.

The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) found Picton subjected the elderly vulnerable woman to ‘harassment and abuse’ and ‘showed no dignity and respect’ in her conduct.

The regulator found five charges against her proved and suspended the nurse for a year.

Picton dragged the woman, referred to in a report as A, by the arm into her room and tilted her bed so she couldn’t leave.

A witness described Picton forcibly giving her Haloperidol, an anti-psychotic treatment, without checking the correct dosage.

When the woman spat the drug out, she gave her more, again without checking, putting the woman at risk of a fatal overdose.

She administered the sedative twice without the patient's consent using a 2ml injection syringe.

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A colleague who provided evidence during the inquiry said he was “shocked” by her treatment of the patient.

He said the nurse had lowered the bed guard rail and put her hand under the woman's jaw so she couldn’t move her head.

The witness described how she filled a syringe to its maximum without checking the amount of medication – twice.

A panel concluded the forceful administration of drugs on November 15, 2017 had shown 'reckless disregard of safe administration of medication’.

A report by the panel said: “Miss Picton is alleged to have forcefully administered (a further) dose of Haloperidol. The registrant gave Patient A too much of the medication within a short period of time and this could have led to over-sedation which can in extreme cases lead to death."

The NMC, which maintains the register for all nurses eligible to practise in the UK, found Picton’s actions demonstrated “a deliberate unwillingness to follow necessary protocols for “safe practice” and indicated a “bullying attitude”.

The panel stated her misconduct caused physical and emotional harm to the woman but decided against striking her off, after a long career as a registered nurse.

After denying the charges during an internal investigation by the Western General, it later emerged Picton admitted that she was 'not fit to practise'.

In an email, Picton said: "I am not fit to practise and have asked in each communication that my name be removed from the NMC register."

Another panel will review the suspension in twelve months.

Janis Butler, director of human resources and organisational development for NHS Lothian, said: “Any allegation of misconduct or any other form of inappropriate behaviour is taken very seriously and investigated thoroughly using recognised processes.”