A MIDWIFE has been told she can work again after she was found guilty of providing sub-standard care to a high-risk mother who gave birth to a still-born baby.
But Helen Grimwade must comply with restrictions imposed by the Nursing and Midwifery Council and face a review panel in a year before she can return to unrestricted practice.
Bosses at the Royal Derby Hospital have apologised for Grimwade's errors and said they terminated her employment and referred her to the council.
Grimwade failed to raise the alarm when the 27-year-old woman went into labour while suffering from high blood pressure.
She did not put a plan in place to check the expectant mother's pulse every fifteen minutes and left at the end of the shift without updating records properly because she was "tired".
A tribunal heard Grimwade also failed to keep bosses at the hospital informed about the woman's increased pulse rate.
Grimwade denied she failed to used specialist equipment to monitor the baby's heart rate when there were problems with the normal equipment but the panel found the allegations proved.
The pregnant woman later gave birth by ceasarean-section but nothing could be done to save the child, the tribunal in central London heard.
The panel heard Grimwade's mistakes did not contribute to the baby's death, but the quality of care provided to Patient A on May 28, 2011, was not up to standard.
Grimwade, who did not attend the tribunal and was unrepresented, was found guilty of misconduct after the panel found all allegations against her proved and her fitness to practise impaired.
Panel chairman Sarah Pond said: "The panel noted that until 28 May 2011, there had been no concerns with Mrs Grimwade's practice, the misconduct related to only one shift and the care of one patient.
"The outcome of this patient's care was deeply regrettable. However, the panel considered that there was no evidence of any deep-seated attitudinal problems or general incompetence.
"The panel noted that Mrs Grimwade had not completed the recommended supervised practice program. However, the panel was of the view that this did not necessarily demonstrate an unwillingness of Mrs Grimwade to undertake the program."
Ms Pond said they accepted that the results of the earlier supervisory investigation that a period of supervised practice would be sufficient to address Grimwade's misconduct.
She said: "The panel determined that practicable conditions could be formulated to address the issues and adequately protect the public and was in the public interest.
"The panel therefore considered that a conditions-of-practice order was the appropriate, necessary and proportionate response in this matter."
She imposed a 12-month order on Grimwade containing restrictions and course recommendations which must be completed before she can return to work unsupervised.
These included completing a practice programme to address issues of high-risk delivery and record-keeping, providing the council with a progress report and notifying the regulator of any new appointment.
Derby's hospitals chief nurse Cathy Winfield said: "We launched a detailed investigation as soon as this tragic event took place back in 2011 and we immediately removed Helen Grimwade from her duties on the labour ward.
"Our investigation highlighted several shortcomings in the care given by this midwife.
"A separate investigation into her professional competency recommended that she undertook a programme of supervised practice. The midwife concerned declined to do this and, as a result, we terminated her employment and referred her to the council.
"Our specialist bereavement midwife offered support to the family involved in this case and our head of midwifery has continued to have regular contact with them and has kept them up-to-date on the progress of this council hearing.
"On this occasion, the care given fell below the standard we expect and I would like to add my personal apologies, on behalf of the trust, for this."
