Fitness to practise committee hears over 20 allegations concerning Prisca Umeobi, a former employee at the Mater Private
Prisca Umeobi, a former nurse at the Mater Private Hospital, is accused of a catalogue of poor professional conduct during the period of her employment between July and August 2021.
A Nursing Midwifery Board of Ireland (NMBI) fitness to practise committee heard allegations against Ms Umeobi, including that she pulled faces at a very ill lady receiving palliative care while cleaning her.
On another occasion, it is alleged Ms Umeobi left a patient sitting on a bedpan and went to lunch without informing anyone. The patient had just returned to the ward after knee replacement surgery.
A former colleague said she found the patient in a highly distressed state and “in severe pain”.
Ms Umeobi is accused of failing to engage in holistic care, while being disrespectful on multiple occasions.
She is further accused of failing to apply a dressing to a patient and failing to wash patients in a timely manner. She allegedly said to one patient: “Can you not wash yourself? I have other patients in pain to look after.”
On another occasion, it is alleged the nurse “rolled her eyes” and “scoffed” when a colleague asked her to pass her a bedpan.
She needed all the care she could get, the poor lady
It is claimed that Ms Umeobi refused to accept feedback from her manager, failed to administer correct medications to patients and did not impart important information about patients to her colleagues.
It is further alleged that she delayed assisting in the cleaning of an extremely vulnerable patient for over an hour and suggested to a ward attendant that the patient remain dressed in a soiled gown.
A healthcare assistant told the committee that the patient in question was a “very sick lady” who had just been transferred to the ward from the intensive care unit.
“She needed all the care she could get, the poor lady,” the healthcare assistant said.
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She told the committee she had to repeatedly ask Ms Umeobi for help cleaning and changing the lady, who was incontinent.
Ms Umeobi, it is alleged, said “I’m busy”, “I’ll come back to you” and “let her wait”.
When she did finally come to assist the woman, the healthcare assistant said she “was not happy”, “pulled faces” and acted disrespectfully to the woman.
It is also alleged Ms Umeobi failed in her clinical duties, including not reporting the serious deterioration of a patient and not following through on prescribed care needs for patients.
She is accused of failing to inform staff on the next shift that a patient’s endoscopic procedure had been cancelled. This led to the patient, who was suffering from cancer, fasting unnecessarily for 12 hours.
Further allegations include that on one or more occasions, Ms Umeobi engaged colleagues in an aggressive or irate tone and spoke in a rude or degrading manner to a member of the hospital’s cleaning team.
Several former colleagues told the committee of instances when the nurse did not carry out tasks required of her.
It was also relayed how she refused to assist colleagues when they were dealing with patients with high needs.
A senior colleague, who was deployed to assist Ms Umeobi after she was identified as having a knowledge gap in her professional skills, told the committee Ms Umeobi did not inform a nurse that a patient took an anti-coagulant medication. She did, however, inform a porter.
I didn’t think it was a relevant or appropriate comment to make
The colleague said: “A porter is not medically or clinically trained and shouldn’t be given such information or responsibility. I was very concerned and asked her did she know a porter was not medically trained and she said no.”
When the same colleague raised concerns about Ms Umeobi, she said she refused to sign a learning plan and was “very irate” and “very angry” to have her shortcomings highlighted.
“It was very clear she was very angry with me,” she said. “The reaction I was receiving was kind of that it was alright for me because I was rich and she needed this job.
“I didn’t think it was a relevant or appropriate comment to make.”
The committee heard the registrant quit her job at the Mater Private Hospital after concerns were raised about her performance.
Ms Umeobi did not attend the fitness to practise hearing. It will continue at a later date when further witnesses will be called.