Baby left covered in blood

A bungling nurse left a premature baby covered in blood while she wandered off to look for equipment, a tribunal has been told.

Hanadi Hamza allegedly failed to put a dressing over a needle prick after taking a blood sample from the critically-ill tot at the Royal Oldham Hospital. She also failed to ensure a saturation monitor was attached, so there was no way of measuring the baby boy’s oxygen level, the Nursing and Midwifery Council heard.

Colleague Gina Jackson told the panel: “The baby’s oxygen saturation monitor had been left off and I was concerned there was blood on the sheets and the baby’s feet and legs.”

She said the oygen sensor was vital, for the baby needed oxygen and levels had to be monitored.

Hamza initially claimed the monitor could have slipped off because it was wet. But Ms Jackson claimed the baby hadn’t been bathed; there wasn’t enough blood to have caused the wetness and a leaky nappy wouldn’t have leaked enough. She claimed the sensor had been purposely removed.

Ms Jackson went on to suggest starting a blood test without all the necesary equipment being available was something only to be expected from a very inexperienced student nurse.

The panel heard earlier how several members of staff on the ward were refusing to work with Hamza because they were concerned her incompetence might get them the sack.

Hamza, who was not present or represented at the hearing, faces a series of charges relating to her fitness to practice.

The hearing will resume on a date still to be fixed.