John Wherlock

1. 1. staff taking breaks simultaneously leaving insufficient supervision

   “was told in evidence that at the time of the accident the ward was being covered by two nurses and two nursing assistants (ie, by 4 staff), but that two of those staff had taken their 1-hour break at the same time; effectively leaving the ward with very little cover. The fall had then occurred when a nursing assistant left the deceased's bay to help another member of staff to change a bed (leaving him entirely unsupervised)”

2. 2. practice of staff taking breaks simultaneously despite prior criticism

   “While | would be concerned in any event that staff had taken their breaks at the same time - given the effect that that would inevitably have on the remaining nurses' ability to cope with the patients on the ward -| was even more concerned when the nursing assistant who gave live evidence at the inquest told me that this was a practice which was still taking place; despite it having been highlighted and criticised in the serious untoward incident report.”

No published response was found on judiciary.uk.