Sandra Marie Young, who had been registered nurse for 40 years, missed the chance to spot changes in a patient’s condition after watching videos on her phone
A nurse who skipped patient observations that would have highlighted “alarming changes” in their condition was instead watching true crime videos on her phone mid-shift.
Sandra Marie Young dishonestly claimed she had carried out the checks, even though she had instead been elsewhere in the hospital watching non-fiction documentaries. The medic’s professional registration has been suspended for six months after a panel upheld three charges against her. She had been a registered nurse for 40 years.
She was working at Nuffield Hospital in Newcastle, Tyneside, at the time of two incidents referred to the Nursing and Midwifery Council. She was cleared of the first, “failing to escalate” a patient for a pain relief review in March 2021.
But following the incident in October 2022, Miss Young was found by the panel to have: “Failed to take observations following the patient collapsing; Documented that the patient had a NEWS Score of zero when you had not taken any observations; Documented that the patient had been escalated to the RMO, when you had not done so.”
An NMC tribunal chaired by Tracy Stephenson found last week that the nurse’s actions had been dishonest, and that she had been watching true crime videos on her phone while working. The panel found her actions amounted to misconduct and her fitness to practise was impaired.
Chronicle Live reports that, consequently, she has been suspended from the NMC register for six months. The tribunal heard that since resigning from her position a day after the incident – on October 14 2022 – Miss Young had not worked as a nurse.
Detailing its findings, the panel heard evidence from a ward manager at the hospital who said: “In this case, Sandra’s failure to perform the necessary observations, including vital signs and neurovascular checks, directly compromised the patient’s safety. Had she followed the proper protocol, she would have identified any alarming changes in his condition, such as drops in blood pressure, altered heart rate, or abnormal oxygen saturation levels, which could have pointed to the underlying issue.
“Additionally, had the proper observations been carried out, Sandra would have been able to accurately calculate Patient A’s NEWS which would have triggered the need for immediate medical review and intervention.” The NEWS score is a system of calculating the risk posed by a patient’s illness by carrying out simple observations.
The tribunal panel found: “The panel was satisfied that at the time Miss Young recorded that she had taken observations and escalated concerns to the RMO, she would have known that she had not done so. The panel found that by making this entry, Miss Young sought to mislead others into believing that she had performed the elements of care as documented.
“In considering dishonesty, the panel applied the objective test and determined that an ordinary, decent person would consider Miss Young’s actions to be dishonest”
Another witness also gave evidence as to Miss Young’s working, adding that on the night in question: “Sandra was already logged into TrakCare and inputting information for other patients at the time. She wasn’t on her break but was sitting and eating a Rustlers burger with a packet of crisps while watching true crime videos on her mobile phone.”
In deciding to suspend Miss Young, the panel found: “Miss Young has acknowledged that her actions went against the professional standards and has attempted to remove herself from the NMC register. Miss Young has repeatedly stated that she has no intention of returning to the nursing profession and has made admissions at an early stage, however she has failed to provide a reflective statement acknowledging the seriousness of her conduct or undertake any steps to remediate her behaviours.”
