Coroner questions nurse training

Coroner's concerns following inquest into Edna Alker's death

A coroner has raised questions about the quality of nurse training, at an inquest into the death of a 91-year-old woman who was given a fatal overdose.

Edna Alker was given a huge dose of potassium chloride by student nurse Rebecca Riley at Whiston Hospital, Merseyside, in September 2003.

Miss Riley did not realise it should have been administered by a drip over a long period of time, the inquest heard.

Coroner Christopher Sumner said Mrs Alker's death was "preventable".

Mrs Alker, of Orrell, near Wigan, was recovering in the hospital after an operation on her abdomen.

Student nurse Miss Riley, who was on placement at the hospital, thought she was supposed to administer the drug using a hypodermic needle.

A preventable consequence of a necessary medical procedure Coroner Christopher Sumner

But the inquest at Bootle Town Hall was told it should have been injected over a period of several hours using a special machine.

The injection was given after a misunderstanding between the nurse and her supervisor, the inquest heard.

Mrs Alker fell unconscious and died the next day on 26 September.

North Merseyside Coroner Mr Sumner, recording a narrative verdict, said he found it surprising that a student nurse, within a week of completing her course, should have had such gaps in her knowledge.

He also commented on the fact that the course offered only one lecture on the administration of intravenous drugs, and that lecture had not been compulsory.

He concluded that Mrs Alker's death was "as a result of a preventable consequence of a necessary medical procedure."

Liverpool John Moores University (JMU), where the nurse was studying, said changes had been made to national guidance on nursing education since the death in 2003.

In a statement, it said the changes were now embedded in all JMU nursing programmes.

St Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals Trust said it would continue to work with education providers to ensure high standards were maintained.