Local Nurse Struck Off For Failure to Give Out Medication

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Incidents occurred at Hammersmith and Ealing Hospitals

There were over 70 cases of alleged misconduct against Xandra Ann De Leon Samson. Picture: Picryl

September 18, 2024

A nurse, who was employed by a number of local hospitals, has been struck from the industry register after a litany of issues were raised about her including failing to administer medication when instructed.

The decision to strike Xandra Ann De Leon Samson from the register alongside an interim suspension order was made at a Nursing and Midwifery Committee (NMC) hearing earlier this month.

The case had been running since October 2022, when the first hearing was held, and related to a series of alleged instances at Hammersmith and then Ealing hospitals between June 2017 and early 2019.

In a decision notice published by the committee, Ms Samson is noted as having been a registered nurse since 2014. In February 2016, she began working at the Heart Assessment Centre (HAC) in Hammersmith Hospital, which is run by Imperial College Healthcare Trust.

She left in 2018, and joined the Acute Medical Unit at Ealing Hospital in October of that year. She was the subject of a medical suspension in April 2019.

A referral was made to the NMC by both Imperial and London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust, which runs Ealing Hospital, relating to Ms Samson’s conduct.

It included allegations ranging from failing to administer medication to taking overly detailed notes, resulting in her leaving work hours after her shift had finished.

In one instance, Ms Samson is recorded as telling a patient they would be prescribed blood thinner medication without having consulted a doctor.

“The panel determined that it is more likely than not you told Patient M that they would be prescribed blood thinner medication without consulting the Doctor, even though the Doctor was in close proximity,” the report states. “The panel agreed that it was part of your role as a nurse to explain to patients about any medication they were receiving, but that this should only be done once medication had been prescribed.”

In another case in August 2017, Ms Samson failed to assist in providing emergency care.

A witness wrote in their statement one of the nurses at Hammersmith Hospital told them the Registrant, Ms Samson, ‘disappeared whenever primaries were brought in’.

“I therefore made a point of watching the Registrant on this shift on 8 August 2017 when a primary was brought in at approximately 17:15,” the statement reads. “When the patient came in I could not see the Registrant so I went to look for her on the HAC; eventually I found her in the doctors’ office. The Registrant would have been aware that a primary had been brought in because the bleep had gone off which alerted the HAC so all nurses would have heard that and been aware, unless they were on a break…On this shift the Registrant disappeared when a Primary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PPCI) emergency patient (primary) was brought onto the HAC and did not assist with it.”

More than 70 instances of alleged misconduct were recorded, with further instances including refusing to give prescribed medication to a patient with a blood clot, not all of which were found to be proven by the committee. However, the three-person panel concluded the majority were, and at a previous hearing found Ms Samson’s actions amounted to misconduct and that her fitness to practise was ‘impaired’.

At the final hearing in early September, for which Ms Samson was absent, the panel determined a striking-off order was necessary to ‘provide the level of protection needed in this case’.

The report reads, “Having regard to the effect of your misconduct in bringing the profession into disrepute by adversely affecting the public’s view of how a registered nurse should conduct themself, the panel has concluded that nothing short of a striking-off order would be sufficient in this case. The panel considered that this order is necessary to mark the seriousness of your misconduct and to signal the importance of maintaining public confidence in the profession, sending a clear message to the public and the profession about the standards of behaviour required of a registered nurse.”

Due to the striking-off order not being able to take effect until after the 28-day appeal period, an interim suspension order was also imposed ‘for the protection of the public’.

Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust confirmed Ms Samson has not worked at the Trust since 2018, and that the NMC hearing overview touches on the processes which took place.

A spokesperson for London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust said, “This individual hasn’t worked at the Trust since 2019. We expect all our nurses to be professional and provide the best possible care to our patients.”

 

Ben Lynch – Local Democracy Reporter