{"id":563613,"date":"2026-07-01T15:34:29","date_gmt":"2026-07-01T15:34:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/563613\/"},"modified":"2026-07-01T15:34:29","modified_gmt":"2026-07-01T15:34:29","slug":"nurse-banned-after-poor-english-put-patients-at-risk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/563613\/","title":{"rendered":"Nurse banned after poor English put patients at risk"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">A woman was banned from working as an NHS nurse after her poor understanding of the English language was deemed to be a risk to patients.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Animol Puthanpurackal Thomas also failed to recognise when a patient was having a seizure, a Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) report said. A previous hearing was told she struggled with language difficulties <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/articles\/cv2211dv3eko?xtor=AL-72-%5Bpartner%5D-%5Byahoo.north.america%5D-%5Blink%5D-%5Bnews%5D-%5Bbizdev%5D-%5Bisapi%5D\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:during multiple serious incidents;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;during multiple serious incidents&quot;}\" class=\"link \">during multiple serious incidents<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">She worked as a supernumerary nurse at Broomfield Hospital, near Chelmsford, between August 2021 and May 2022.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Puthanpurackal Thomas had not worked at the hospital since then, the Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The NMC panel found she did not notice when a patient was having a seizure while she was cleaning them in February 2022 and failed to pull an alarm bell.<\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"A close-up of a nurse in purple scrubs wearing a stethoscope, using an iPad. Her chest area is visible, but not her face.\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"960\" height=\"540\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"rounded-lg\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/f3e3b56ba3a30f45fa6cca0bebda2917.jpeg\"\/><\/p>\n<p>[Getty Images]<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">A series of incidents were reported on 26 April 2022, including Puthanpurackal Thomas pushing tablets into a patient&#8217;s mouth and pouring water in.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">She also drew up the incorrect dosage of insulin to be administered to a person under her care, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nmc.org.uk\/globalassets\/sitedocuments\/ftpoutcomes\/2026\/june-2026\/reasons-puthanpurackal-thomas-ftpcsorh-89458-20260618.pdf\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:the report;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;the report&quot;}\" class=\"link \">the report<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The NMC said her blunders had caused &#8220;actual harm&#8221; to patients.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Her poor understanding of English &#8220;appeared to exacerbate underlying poor practice&#8221;, the panel found, deciding to strike her off the register.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">NHS regulators were <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/health-26839888?xtor=AL-72-%5Bpartner%5D-%5Byahoo.north.america%5D-%5Blink%5D-%5Bnews%5D-%5Bbizdev%5D-%5Bisapi%5D\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:given powers to discipline or strike off;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;given powers to discipline or strike off&quot;}\" class=\"link \">given powers to discipline or strike off<\/a> public-facing healthcare staff who could not speak English to the necessary level in 2014.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Puthanpurackal Thomas did not engage with the misconduct proceedings and has not spoken to the NMS since March 2023.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">In previous written evidence, she admitted struggling with the English accent.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><strong>Do you have a story suggestion for Essex? 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