A Stevenage nurse has been barred from the profession after he tried to "cover up" two incidents where he administered medication incorrectly.

A nursing misconduct panel found that Emmanuel Adu-Osei had put patients at risk of harm by failing to report the incidents, six months apart, where he had administered ten times the prescribed dosage of a drug and, with a different patient, had given the wrong medication.

Adu-Osei worked for East and North Herts NHS Trust on a gastroenterology ward.

In October 2021, Adu-Osei was working a night shift when he gave 5mg of Haloperidol to a patient who should have only received a 500 mcg dose. 

The nurse then asked the doctor to change the patient's prescription to reflect the amount that had been wrongly given rather than the amount that should have been given.

In a later note, Adu-Osei attempted to blame the doctor for the error, and the panel concluded he was trying to "undermine the doctor's decision in the medical record". 

Then, on 23 June 2022, Adu-Osei gave a patient 500mg of Metronidazole rather than 1g of Paracetamol they had been prescribed. The panel found he had then asked the patient not to report the mistake, making them feel "uncomfortable".

The error was only spotted after the patient's husband questioned whether the correct medication had been given. Adu-Osei did not tell anybody about the error, and the nurse team leader only became aware after being told about it by the patient.

The team leader said: "We all went to the prep room, and I repeated what the patient narrated to me.

"Emmanuel admitted that he had made a medication error and did not tell anyone about it.

"I asked him why he did not inform me before he left, but he did not have any reason."

The report from the Nursing and Midwifery Council's panel said: "Both patients were put at risk of physical harm as a result of Mr Adu-Osei's misconduct.

"Despite being involved in a drug error and the reporting requirements arising from this initially, he failed to act in line with a duty of candour six months later following the second drug error.

"Mr Adu-Oei made two separate drug errors, and on each occasion, he sought to 'cover up' his failings, which had the potential to cause patient harm.

"By seeking to 'cover up' his failings, Mr Adu-Osei has an attitudinal problem in his nursing practice.

"Mr Adu-Osei only considered the impact on himself and not on others who were affected by his conduct."

The panel found that Adu-Osei's actions amounted to several breaches of the nursing code and decided to remove him from the nursing register. He has not worked in the UK since the two incidents.

Theresa Murphy, chief nurse at East and North Hertfordshire NHS Teaching Trust, said: "We cannot comment on individual cases, however, medication errors are incredibly rare.

"Our priority is always to provide safe, high-quality care, and we will continue to work with patients, their families and our staff to uphold the highest standards.

"We expect all registered nurses to meet the standards set out in the code and regularly review our staff safety processes to pick up issues such as these."