Tragic case of Jamie Merrett highlights duty of care and need for training
17:15 - 28/10/2010
Tragic case of Jamie Merrett highligh...
Jamie Merrett, a 37-year-old Tetraplegic man from Devizes, has been left severely brain-damaged after an agency nurse working for the NHS switched off his life support machine by mistake.
Mr Merrett had been receiving care at home on a life support machine ever since a road accident in 2002 left him paralysed from the neck downwards. He had retained the ability to talk and was able to use a wheelchair and operate a computer using voice-activated technology. His sister, Karen Reynolds, described him as “a highly intelligent man” and explained that “you could have long, in-depth conversations with him.”
Tragically, though, Mr Merrett has been left severely brain-damaged by the interruption to his life support and his sister explains that his understanding has dramatically deteriorated, saying: “His life is completely changed. He doesn’t have a life now.”
Mr Merrett had a bedside camera installed at his home in Wiltshire after both he and his sister had become increasingly worried about the quality of the care he was receiving. Ms Reynolds had repeatedly sent e-mails to health bosses detailing her concerns about serious errors committed by nurses operating his ventilator, but she had received no response.
Just days after the camera was installed in January 2009, it filmed the moment when carer Violetta Aylward mistakenly switched off Mr Merrett’s ventilator. Over 20 minutes passed before the machine was restarted by paramedics and by then Mr Merrett had suffered serious brain damage.
The Nursing and Midwifery Council guidelines state that nurses should only work within their level of competence and have the skills required to undertake whatever care they are delivering. Ms Aylward has been suspended while the Council investigates the incident. A report by Wiltshire Social Services indicated that the agency that supplied her, Ambition 24hours, did not have adequate systems in place to check what training their staff had received.
Charlotte Potter, Head of Quality and Curriculum at First Response Training, says: “This is an extremely tragic case which highlights the duty of care of employers to ensure that their staff are adequately trained to carry out the duties expected of them and to keep adequate records of that training. Staff themselves also have a duty of care to only work within the limits of their competence, and to tell a senior or manager when they know that they are unable, or are unsure of their capability, to perform a certain task.
“It also illustrates why proper implementation of the Skills for Care Common Induction Standards and mandatory training is so important. The Common Induction Standards provide carers with the base knowledge required to work in care and also make them aware of what they are not trained to do. Combined with effective supervision sessions it enables you to assess with your manager what further training you need.
“Within the Common Induction Standards there is a great emphasis placed on ‘working within your limits’, not undertaking tasks for which you are not sufficiently trained and always referring to a manager or senior if you have had no training or if you are simply in doubt of your skills.
"The FRT Common Induction Programme, which we have recently developed, enables managers and staff to keep track of all training undertaken. It is also a requirement of the CQC that these records are kept up-to-date and are present in every staff member’s file. Employers have a duty to provide any training including specialist training required to complete any task required of staff, and carers are within their rights to refuse to undertake any task if their lack of knowledge will put service users at risk.”
For more information of the FRT Common Induction Programme, please call us today on 0800 310 2300.
Mr Merrett had been receiving care at home on a life support machine ever since a road accident in 2002 left him paralysed from the neck downwards. He had retained the ability to talk and was able to use a wheelchair and operate a computer using voice-activated technology. His sister, Karen Reynolds, described him as “a highly intelligent man” and explained that “you could have long, in-depth conversations with him.”
Tragically, though, Mr Merrett has been left severely brain-damaged by the interruption to his life support and his sister explains that his understanding has dramatically deteriorated, saying: “His life is completely changed. He doesn’t have a life now.”
Mr Merrett had a bedside camera installed at his home in Wiltshire after both he and his sister had become increasingly worried about the quality of the care he was receiving. Ms Reynolds had repeatedly sent e-mails to health bosses detailing her concerns about serious errors committed by nurses operating his ventilator, but she had received no response.
Just days after the camera was installed in January 2009, it filmed the moment when carer Violetta Aylward mistakenly switched off Mr Merrett’s ventilator. Over 20 minutes passed before the machine was restarted by paramedics and by then Mr Merrett had suffered serious brain damage.
The Nursing and Midwifery Council guidelines state that nurses should only work within their level of competence and have the skills required to undertake whatever care they are delivering. Ms Aylward has been suspended while the Council investigates the incident. A report by Wiltshire Social Services indicated that the agency that supplied her, Ambition 24hours, did not have adequate systems in place to check what training their staff had received.
Charlotte Potter, Head of Quality and Curriculum at First Response Training, says: “This is an extremely tragic case which highlights the duty of care of employers to ensure that their staff are adequately trained to carry out the duties expected of them and to keep adequate records of that training. Staff themselves also have a duty of care to only work within the limits of their competence, and to tell a senior or manager when they know that they are unable, or are unsure of their capability, to perform a certain task.
“It also illustrates why proper implementation of the Skills for Care Common Induction Standards and mandatory training is so important. The Common Induction Standards provide carers with the base knowledge required to work in care and also make them aware of what they are not trained to do. Combined with effective supervision sessions it enables you to assess with your manager what further training you need.
“Within the Common Induction Standards there is a great emphasis placed on ‘working within your limits’, not undertaking tasks for which you are not sufficiently trained and always referring to a manager or senior if you have had no training or if you are simply in doubt of your skills.
"The FRT Common Induction Programme, which we have recently developed, enables managers and staff to keep track of all training undertaken. It is also a requirement of the CQC that these records are kept up-to-date and are present in every staff member’s file. Employers have a duty to provide any training including specialist training required to complete any task required of staff, and carers are within their rights to refuse to undertake any task if their lack of knowledge will put service users at risk.”
For more information of the FRT Common Induction Programme, please call us today on 0800 310 2300.
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