AN ACCRINGTON nurse suspended for two years for letting an asthmatic colleague use an inhaler to prevent an attack wept when she was told she could return to work.
In June, 2007 at Royal Blackburn Hospital a support worker told nurse Lisa McCallion, 39, that they could feel an asthma attack coming on.
Lisa told the worker, known only as ‘A’ during a disciplinary hearing, where the Ventolin was kept so they could take a dose and fend off the attack.
The worker administered the drug on themselves, but Lisa was later charged with giving out a prescription only drug without a prescription and suspended from duty.
According to the rules, Lisa should have sent her colleague to the A and E department for treatment.
She was also charged with failing to keep tabs on the worker after the drug was taken, other than asking if they felt OK.
Lisa’s case was heard by the Nursing and Midwifery Council’s (NMC) Conduct and Competence Committee in London on Monday.
She broke down when told she had been cleared, saying: "Finally, it’s over."
NMC chair Gill Barker said: "The nurse has clearly breached the code. She treated ‘A’ as if she were a patient, failed to carry out any baseline observations and gave a drug which was prescription only.
"However, the panel gives the nurse credit for the remorse she has shown for her actions.
"The panel are in no doubt that the conduct which has been admitted by the nurse is serious but we find that, having considered the up-to-date situation, the nurses fitness to practice is not impaired."
Lisa was told she could now continue her career as a nurse with an unblemished record.
She has since taken further medical training and is currently working as a theatre practitioner at Beardwood Hospital in Preston.
