BRENTWOOD: Nurse is cautioned over missing swab

By [aleys]

A THEATRE nurse who caused 'chaos' after an operation when she failed to keep tabs on cotton wool swabs, has been let off with a caution.

Sushila Nagrani's blunders could have resulted in the swabs being sewn into the patient's body, the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) heard.

Nagrani, a scrub nurse at Essex Nuffield Hospital in Brentwood, was responsible for ensuring all instruments and swabs were accounted for.

The 57-year-old, from Basildon, was found guilty of a series of charges on Thursday including failing to record the number of swabs used during surgery. She was given a caution that will remain on her record for five years.

Colleague Eileen Price told the hearing that when she walked into theatre on July 19, 2005, it was in complete disarray.

"It was chaotic when I got there," she said. There's chaos when you lose a swab. It gets frantic, particularly where there's a discrepancy in the count.

"Being a scrub nurse is an awesome task – with huge responsibility."

Mary Lock, who was brought in to audit surgical procedures at the hospital, said Nagrani's working practice was cause for concern.

"There was no record of a swab count on a board or on my sheet," she added. "Everyone was aware of the swab policy and everyone needed to adhere to it.

"The number of swabs involved should have been recorded. A swab could've got inside the patient."

Mrs Lock said she spoke to Nagrani following the surgery but the nurse would not accept responsibility for what happened.

"She was inclined to blame the team," said Mrs Lock.

NMC panel chairman Franklyn Baker said Nagrani's poor practice could not go unpunished.

He said she was guilty of a 'cavalier attitude' in relation to patient safety and blasted her for blaming others.

"Throughout the course of the hearing the registrant refused to accept responsibility for the incidents to which the charges relate and sought to blame others for any failures in safe practice which occurred," he said.

"We consider that her insight into her own accountability is somewhat limited."

But Mr Baker acknowledged her commitment to nursing and said: "We have decided that a caution order is the appropriate sanction."

Nagrani was found guilty of failing to record the number of swabs used during surgery, failing to make a proper instrument count and failing to conduct a proper handover.

She was cleared of failing to check or record the number of swabs before a catheter trolley left surgery.