Nurse struck off over missed checks before death

A former mental health nurse has been struck off after a patient's death triggered an investigation that revealed he falsified records and failed to carry out mandatory observations.

Anil Parrymore was working at Broadmoor Hospital in Crowthorne, Berkshire, when he falsely recorded checking on seven patients every 15 minutes on a shift in November 2022.

This was only uncovered after one of the patients was found dead hours later, with CCTV showing Parrymore actually carried out three checks across 25 minutes.

A spokesperson for West London NHS Trust, which runs the hospital, said the observations were a "key patient safety issue" and any staff failure would result in referral to regulators.

The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) panel was told Parrymore had admitted to not carrying out the checks and said he had "panicked" when he signed documentation recording that he had.

Parrymore was due to carry out the observations between 21:30 and 23:00 GMT on 7 November 2022.

The CCTV showed him taking a drink to a patient at 21:36, talking to another at 22:00 and taking clothes from a third a minute later.

Parrymore was interviewed by trust staff in March 2023. He started a planned retirement from 31 March 2023.

The NMC panel said him being struck off was "necessary" to send a "clear message about the standards of behaviour expected and required of a registered nurse."

The West London NHS Trust spokesperson said: "Undertaking observations is a key patient safety issue and therefore a critical role for all nursing staff.

"Action is always taken when staff fail to do this and referral to the regulatory body follows."