A Scots nurse has been suspended after after a litany of failings including wrongly performing a bladder scan, telling a GP a patient had thrush and not properly helping a patient to the toilet.
The Nursery and Midwifery council found dozens of allegations proven against Fife man William Victory McAuley during a hearing this month.
In 2017 while working as a as a band six multiple sclerosis nurse specialist, he incorrectly ascribed the patient’s swallowing problems to oral thrush in a letter to a GP and had not raised concerns to a speech therapist.
An improvement plan was put in place but he did not complete it for NHS Fife.
A more formal plan was put in place in December that year but it was found McAuley failed to undertake a bladder scan before advising the patient- and then told them to use a bladder stimulator once daily, when twice daily was correct.
Further failings were found in 2018 including not telling a GP about a patient falling and in one case did not asses the patient before recommending medicine.
In the Letham Ward of Cameron hospital, he was found to have used a scanner he was unfamiliar with and performed a bladder scan wrongly.
On another occasion in 2018 he was found to have not helped a patient properly to use the toilet.
Allegations of him taking a patient's blood without consent and of trying to take blood from the wrong patient were unproven.
McAuley has been handed a 12 month suspension order with an interim suspension of 18 months in place.
In a report the NMC wrote: " The NMC’s case is that the concerns are wide-ranging and relate to basic and fundamental aspects of general nursing.
"The concerns were not isolated and were indicative of a pattern demonstrating a lack of competence.
"It is the NMC’s case that the concerns referred to in the charges persisted, despite the programme of support put in place, to assist Mr McAuley to demonstrate that he could practise safely, competently and independently.
"The panel had regard to the seriousness of the facts found proved and the reasons set out in its decision for the substantive order in reaching the decision to impose an interim order.
"To do otherwise would be incompatible with its earlier findings.
"The period of this order is for 18 months to allow for the possibility of an appeal to be made and determined.
"If no appeal is made, then the interim suspension order will be replaced by the substantive suspension order 28 days after Mr McAuley is sent the decision of this hearing in writing."
