Epileptic girl, 17, who choked on her own vomit in a hospital bed ‘was ignored by two nurses’
- Lassania Aslam, 17, suffered five epileptic fits in the space of 24 hours
- Caroline O’Rourke and Mary Subaste failed to look after her properly
- Coroner’s court hear how hospital neglect contributed to her death
By Steve Robson
PUBLISHED: 09:35, 23 November 2012 | UPDATED: 10:53, 23 November 2012
Tragic: Lassania Aslam had learning disabilities and was a life-long sufferer of epilepsyTwo nurses who ignored the plight of an epileptic girl who died after she inhaled her own vomit in a hospital bed face being struck off.
Lassania Aslam, 17, suffered five seizures in the space of 24 hours after being admitted to The Whittington Hospital in Archway, north London.
But senior nurses Caroline O’Rourke and Mary Subaste failed to ensure she was looked after properly as the 17-year-old’s brain was starved of oxygen, a tribunal heard.
Subaste had witnessed two of Lassania’s fits, one of which lasted for six minutes.
Lassania died four days later, with hospital neglect contributing to her death in March 2007.
They both face being struck off after the Nursing and Midwifery Council panel in central London found the nurses’ fitness to practice impaired by reason of misconduct.
Panel chair Michael Cann said: ‘The failure to ensure neurological observations were undertaken and recorded was a breach of duty of care serious enough to constitute misconduct.
‘Every patient must always be monitored and observed, and these observations recorded. This requirement is so basic that every nurse should be aware of it.
‘Not doing so makes it is impossible to accurately assess whether the condition of the patient is improving or deteriorating and make decisions on whether to call for medical intervention, which must be taken expeditiously.
‘The panel notes the coroner’s finding in this case that basic standards of practice for neurological observation were not followed.
‘While not attributing blame for the death, this observation serves to underline the potential risk to patients if standard observations are not undertaken.’
O’Rourke was in charge of the Medical Admissions Unit where Lassania, of Crouch End, north London, was taken after suffering two epileptic fits in Accident and Emergency.
She failed to ensure neurological observations were carried out after Lassania suffered a seizure at 12.10pm, on March 26, 2007, and did so again after a fit the next morning at around 7.40am.
Night shift nurse Subaste admitted failing to ensure observations were taken following three fits during the night.
Lassania, who had learning disabilities and was a long-standing sufferer of epilepsy, was admitted to the hospital at 5am on March 26, 2007 with vomiting and fever.
Both nurses have admitted they failed in the care that Lassania received in the days she before her death, on April 1.
Failure: The Whittington Hospital in Archway, north London, where Lassania Aslam was taken in March 2007
An inquest in March 2008 into Lassania’s death heard admissions from hospital staff that basic care had not been given.
The 17-year-old had inhaled vomit after a seizure and had suffered irreversible brain damage.
The hearing resumed this week after being adjourned in August.
O’Rourke, who now works in a care home in Ireland, earlier told the hearing of her regret over the failures to properly care for Lassania.
She said: ‘I would have, looking back in reflection, not stood over the nurses but been near enough to be confident the patient was being looked after.
‘I would make sure the observations had been done, not naively expect them to have been done.’
Asked what she would do differently if she was working that shift again, she replied: ‘Everything.’
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