Nurse at Midlands Regional Hospital Portlaoise makes admissions of poor professional performance over care of nine patients

A NURSE had made admissions of poor professional performance about her care of several patients during four months working at the Midlands Regional Hospital in Portlaoise in 2022.

A fitness-to-practise inquiry of the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland heard that the nurse, Jinimol George, had failed to escalate the care of three patients whose condition was deteriorating after having incorrectly calculated their early warning score.

Overall, Ms George faced a total of seven allegations in relation to the care of nine patients at the Midlands Regional Hospital in Portlaoise between July 7, 2022 and August 22, 2022.

The nurse accepted that her actions and failings also amounted to breaches of the Code of Conduct and Ethics for Registered Nurses.

At the outset of the inquiry on Tuesday, Ms George’s solicitor, Thomas Cochrane, made admissions in relation to all or part of the seven allegations.

They included that Ms George had verbally handed over the incorrect details of a patient to ambulance personnel claiming he had a stroke when he was actually going for an angiogram.

On the same day, she failed to administer Xanax as prescribed to another patient and failed to record why she had not done so.

Parts of other allegations were withdrawn as a result of the admissions, which also meant the inquiry did not need to call any witnesses to give evidence.

The inquiry arose following a complaint to the NMBI by the then director of nursing at the Midlands Regional Hospital in Portlaoise, Sandra McCarthy, in September 2022.

Counsel for the NMBI, Elaine Finneran BL, told the hearing that senior nursing staff at the hospital became concerned about Ms George’s performance after she began working in the hospital in early May 2022.

Ms George was working in the Dunamase ward of the hospital which the inquiry heard was “an acute ward with a huge turnover of patients.” Ms Finneran said a performance improvement plan (PIP) was put in place for the nurse on July 7, 2022 but Ms George still failed to achieve the required standard.

She said a second PIP was put in place on August 17, 2022 before Ms George handed in her resignation at the end of the same month.

In relation to one patient. Ms Finneran said the nurse had incorrectly calculated his early warning score which resulted in a delay in the escalation of his treatment and care.

Counsel explained that the incorrect calculation meant the patient was not observed every half hour as required given his condition, while Ms George had not examined him at any stage after 5pm, while her handover to other nursing staff was “unclear and inadequate.” The inquiry heard the patient suffered a cardiac arrest on the ward at 8.30pm and had to be transferred to the hospital’s intensive care unit.

In relation to another patient, Ms Finneran said a clinical nurse manager, Emma Farrell, had instructed Ms George what observations she needed to make while she had to leave the ward for two hours on July 26, 2022.

However, Ms Finneran said Ms George had not carried out any observations while Ms Farrel had been away from the ward.

The barrister said the nurse had also failed to administer a prescribed painkiller to another patient in August 2022 and failed to record why she had not done so in the patient’s medical notes.

Mr Cochrane told the inquiry that Ms George had qualified as a nurse in India in 1996 and worked there and in Saudi Arabia before coming to Ireland in 2005.

The solicitor said the nurse’s job in the Midlands Regional Hospital in Portlaoise was the first time she had worked in an acute setting since she had left India as she had worked in a nursing home in Ireland between 2007 and 2021.

Mr Cochrane said Ms George was somewhat surprised at being the subject of a PIP and believed it just added to the stress and anxiety she felt at the time.

He said the nurse had “held her hands up when errors were identified” and had engaged with the inquiry process as well as demonstrating insight and offering an apology.

The inquiry heard that Ms George has been working as a nurse with the Irish Prison Service in Wheatfield Prison since March 2025.

Mr Cochrane said there had been no issues with the nurse’s employment in her current role.

He asked the NMBI fitness-to-practise subcommittee to deal with the inquiry by the nurse consenting to censure by the regulatory body as well as giving an undertaking about her future conduct.

Mr Cochrane said Ms George was also undertaking to complete courses in medication management, law and ethics and the Irish National Early Warning Score within six months at her own expense.

Ms Finneran said the NMBI was “neutral” in terms of supporting or opposing the application made on behalf of the nurse.

In reply to a question from the inquiry chairperson, Conor McKenna, Mr Cochrane said Ms George would prefer not to work in an acute setting in the future as she had found it “particularly stressful.” Following a brief adjournment, the committee granted the application to conclude the inquiry with the undertaking provided by the nurse.

However, it also required her to inform any prospective employer over the next five years about the undertaking and censure.