Mid Staffs cases set to resume at NMC today

Janice Harry, who worked at the trust between 1998 and 2006, faces a number of allegations relating to failures in her management.

These include failing to ensure the trust, which runs Stafford Hospital, had adequate staffing levels, appropriate standards of record keeping, hygiene and cleanliness, administration of medication, provision of nutrition and fluids, and patient dignity.

She is also accused of bullying staff and acting in an “aggressive and intimidating” way and reducing some employees to tears.

Her case was adjourned earlier this year. Earlier sessions heard that Ms Harry was involved in the decision by the trust’s board to save millions of pounds from the budget in 2006 by reducing frontline staff numbers. She is accused of telling the board in April 2006 that savings would not be harmful to patient safety or care.

The public inquiry by Robert Francis QC, which was published in February, found no evidence that a risk assessment of the move was carried out.

Ms Harry, who has since retired from nursing, has denied any misconduct.

The NMC was also set to re-open the cases against former Mid Staffordshire accident and emergency department sisters Tracy White and Sharon Turner.

Ms White faces five charges of misconduct relating to patient care and falsifying waiting times, and Ms Turner faces six, including falsifying waiting times, patient care and racist conduct, relating to their time in charge of the A&E department in 2007.

The NMC apologised earlier this year over the delay in dealing with fitness to practise cases involving nurses from Mid Staffordshire.