Nurse Suspended for Failing to Call Ambulance for Dementia Patient | Irish High Court
A clinical nurse manager has been suspended from the register of nurses for nine months by the High Court in Ireland after failing to call for an ambulance when a dementia patient ingested cleaning fluid. Ann Marie Ryan, a registered psychiatric nurse based in Milford, County Donegal, will remain suspended pending completion of courses in emergency response, ethics, and nursing leadership.
The decision, confirmed by High Court president Judge David Barniville, followed an inquiry by the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland’s fitness-to-practise committee. Judge Barniville stated there was no reason to deviate from the board’s findings. According to documents submitted to the board in November of last year, Ryan indicated she did not intend to re-register as a nurse in 2026 and disputed the accuracy of the allegations.
The inquiry found two allegations against Ryan were proven. These related to an incident in March 2021 at a psychiatric unit in the east of the country where Ryan was the clinical nurse manager and nurse in charge. The committee determined her performance was poor and that she had not complied with the code of professional conduct for nurses.
Evidence presented to the inquiry revealed that after being informed by a staff nurse about the patient’s ingestion of cleaning fluid, Ryan did not promptly summon an ambulance and instructed other nursing staff not to do so. Further evidence showed Ryan directed a staff nurse to continue administering water to the patient and monitor her condition, despite the staff nurse’s assessment that the patient required hospital treatment.
A doctor who was present at the unit at the time of the incident advised Ryan to call for an ambulance, according to testimony given during the three-day inquiry held in February of last year. While an ambulance was eventually called, the patient died days later in hospital.
Ryan, who currently holds the position of director of education, training and professional development at a psychiatric hospital in Dubai, did not attend the fitness-to-practise inquiry.