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Unsafe clinical practice

Our case studies are based on real life fitness to practise concerns we have received

Type of concern: Unsafe clinical practice

Profession: Biomedical scientist

Standard

Standards of conduct, performance and ethics (updated in August 2012)

  • Standard 1. You must act in the best interests of service users
  • Standard 7. You must communicate properly and effectively with service users and other practitioners

Standards of proficiency for biomedical scientists (1 September 2023)

  • Standard 4. practise as an autonomous professional, exercising their own professional judgement

Case study

A biomedical scientist’s employer raised concerns following an incident where the registrant failed to follow procedure. When processing samples, the registrant failed to prevent contamination, which led to inaccurate results.

The registrant attended the hearing and was represented. While it was a one-off incident, the Panel felt it was not due to a lack of understanding, knowledge or training. The Panel felt these were deliberate acts and contrary to the standard operating procedures. It resulted in blood samples having to be retaken. Additionally, there was a potential risk of harm if clinicians had acted on the contaminated results. Therefore, the Panel felt the registrant’s conduct fell well below the standards expected of a biomedical scientist. The incident was sufficiently serious to constitute misconduct. The Panel felt that the misconduct was remediable. However, it felt that the registrant had not demonstrated that it had been remedied. In addition, there was a risk of repetition, given the extreme pressures of the work environment. The Panel also felt the following clear message needed to be given to the public and to other registrants. It is not acceptable for a biomedical scientist to make a deliberate decision to not follow mandatory standard operating procedures. Therefore, the Panel found the registrant’s fitness to practise was impaired on both the personal and public component.

The Panel then went on to consider what sanction to impose which would be sufficient to protect the public. The Panel felt a conditions of practice order would be sufficient. The conditions required the registrant to undertake training and the preparation of a personal development plan to ensure the registrant was able to manage their workload effectively, even when subject to stress, so that the registrant wasn’t tempted by shortcuts or to take risks.

Measures we put in place to protect the public

The Conduct and Competence Committee imposed a twelve-month conditions of practice order.

 

Cyhoeddwyd:
14/01/2019
Resources
Learning material
Is-gategori:
Case study
Audience
Cofrestredig, Employers
Profession
Biomedical scientists
Tudalen wedi'i diweddaru ymlaen: 18/12/2023
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