A nurse has been struck off for a ‘catalogue of incidents’ while working at the Royal United Hospital in Bath, with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) saying he had caused “actual harm” to patients.
Bogdan Mutu worked at the Royal United Hospital in Bath between March 2015 and June 2016, in the Midford and ACE OPU wards.
At a hearing of the Nursing and Midwifery Council, a committee heard how Mr Mutu had been involved in a catalogue of incidents, including attempting to guess the dosage of a drug, wrongly advising the amount of insulin a patient should administer, and telling the family of a patient that they had cancer without a medical diagnosis.
Bogdan Mutu was not present at the hearing and made no response to the allegations that were made against him. The panel said that due to the fact Mr Mutu’s had decided to voluntarily absent himself, it was “fair, appropriate and proportionate” to continue without him being present.
The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) ruled that Mr Mutu had caused ‘actual harm’ to patients in his care, and that his level of performance was ‘significantly below’ the standards expected of a registered nurse.
The panel also heard evidence that when offered constructive criticism, Mr Mutu often became agitated, was defensive, over-reacted and did not act upon advice.
The NMC panel concluded that Mr Mutu’s misconduct and lack of competence had the potential to put his patients at unwarranted risk of harm.
The ruling states: “The panel considered that Mr Mutu’s misconduct and lack of competence brought the profession into disrepute.
“His actions put patients at risk of harm and his attitude towards patients, their relatives and colleagues was unprofessional.”
Incidents by Mutu highlighted by the NMC included:
- Telling a colleague that a patient who was nil-by-mouth could have food and drink;
- Telling a patient and/or the patient’s family that the patient was going to St Martin’s Hospital when there were no beds available at St Martin’s Hospital;
- Informing colleagues that a patient had been diagnosed with C Difficile when that was not correct;
- Informing a porter that a patient did not require oxygen during his transfer when the patient did require oxygen;
- Informing the family of a patient that the patient had dementia when there was not yet a formal diagnosis;
- Inappropriately telling a patient’s family that the patient had cancer, without a medical diagnosis;
- Failing to check that insulin had been given to a patient with elevated blood glucose levels;
- When asked what a drug was for replied with words to the effect of, “No idea and I don’t care”;
- Attempting to guess the dosage of carbocysteine medication, rather than calculate it;
- Giving a patient and/or advised a patient to take an additional 40 units of Insulin without authority to do so.
The panel concluded that a striking off order was the only sanction which would be sufficient to protect the public.
Mr Mutu was issued an interim suspension order for a maximum of 18 months, and has been given 28 days to appeal the decision.