Doctor gives evidence in nurse trial
A doctor has told a jury that he prescribed Serenase to a patient at Naas General Hospital after he was bleeped because the patient was hitting and kicking staff and was considered a danger to himself and others.
Dr Hamid Mushtaq said he prescribed an intra muscular injection of Serenase to Mr Seamus Doherty, aged 80, Rathcoffey, Naas, County Kildare, on the night shift of July 03, 2003.
He said he would normally prescribe the drug in tablet form but he thought the patient was too aggressive and the staff wouldn’t be able to administer it in this way.
Dr Mushtaq was giving evidence on day-eleven of the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court trial of Ms Noreen Mulholland, aged 35, now living in Park Road, Portadown, County Armagh, who pleaded not guilty to assault causing harm to Mr John Gethings, aged 77, Baltinglass, County Wicklow on March 1, 2003 and to Mr Doherty between June 18-19, 2003.
Ms Mulholland, previously of Runabeg Close, Kildare, also denies intentionally or recklessly administering a substance, Serenase, to both men, knowing it was capable of interfering substantially with their bodily functions without their consent on the same dates.
Ms Orla Crowe BL, prosecuting, has told the jury that Mr Gethings died on March 2, 2003 but emphasised that it was not the State’s case that Ms Mulholland was responsible for his death.
Dr Mushtaq said he told Mr Doherty’s doctor, Dr Michael Durrity, the next day during rounds that he had given the patient Serenase the previous night. Dr Durrity said Mr Doherty wasn’t to be given the drug so Dr Mushtaq wrote "not for Serenase" on the patient’s chart.
He said he first worked with Dr Durrity on July 1, 2006 and had never worked with him in Naas before then.
Ms Marie Carroll, a staff nurse at Naas, told Ms Crowe that she was on duty with Ms Olwyn Bennett on July 3, 2003, when Ms Bennett had to bleep a doctor for Mr Doherty because he was shouting, screaming, trying to get out of bed and hitting and kicking staff.
She described him as being a danger to both himself and to staff and both she and Ms Bennett had tried unsuccessfully to calm him down before they bleeped Dr Mushtaq for assistance, who on assessing the situation prescribed an intra muscular injection of Serenase.
Ms Carroll said she checked the drug, for drug name, dose, expiry date etc. against Mr Doherty’s cardex and they both signed his prescription chart, before she helped Ms Bennett gently administer the drug using a blue needle into the patient’s buttock.
She said that a blue needle would normally be used for this injection and a green needle would be used to draw drugs into a syringe but added that this green needle would sometimes be used for an intra muscular injection if they were dealing with a large patient.
Ms Carroll said she would not normally use a white needle at all on the ward.
Dr Durrity told the court that he was only made aware that Mr Doherty was given a Serenase injection on two occasions. The first when he was doing rounds and was told the patient had been given it the night before because he was agitated. He warned then that Mr Doherty was never to be given the drug.
He said the second time when was Mr Doherty’s daughter pointed out her father’s chart to him on July 18th, which showed he had been prescribed Serenase on July 3rd. He said he was surprised to see this and wrote on the cardex "not for Serenase".
Dr Durrity told Mr Giollaiosa O Lideadha SC, (with Ms Anne B Rowland BL), defending, that he was sure that the first time he noted Mr Doherty was given Serenase was on June 19th, because the patient had been sleeping and that was the first time Mr Doherty was not alert during his rounds.
He said he noted this on the patient’s chart and added that he was sure it was the nurse on charge that day, who he thought was Ms Noelle McCormack, that told him the patient was given Serenase.
Ms Sinead White told Ms Crowe that she was approached by one of Mr Doherty’s daughters on June 21st who told her her father was complaining of a sore bottom. She checked the area and saw that he had a slight red mark on his right buttock.
Mr Doherty had also complained he had received an injection but on checking his prescription chart she saw there was nothing charted for an intra muscular injection.
She said she spoke to Ms Mulholland that Sunday, June 22nd, and said that Mr Doherty’s family were concerned he had been given an injection.
Ms White told the jury that the accused replied she had given him "a jab" but when she, Ms White, explained that Mr Doherty was not charted for this, Ms Mulholland said she had only given him a tablet.
Ms White was off duty for a few days but when she returned, she told the ward sister, Ms McCormack, that Mr Doherty’s family were concerned he had been given an injection.
The trial continues before Judge Frank O’Donnell and a jury of six women and six men.
