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Nurse Suspended After 32-Second CPR Decision
6 Sep
Summary
- Nurse Melissa Papandrea refused CPR after a brief assessment.
- A tribunal found her judgment subjective, not clinically adequate.
- She has acknowledged her actions were a serious clinical error.
A nurse, Melissa Papandrea, has been suspended for 12 months following an incident at Poplars Care Centre in Maidstone on November 7, 2022. Papandrea refused to commence CPR on a resident who had stopped breathing, based on a clinical assessment that lasted just 32 seconds.
During a call with a 999 operator, Papandrea stated the resident had passed away. Despite being told the resident was still warm and lacked a do-not-resuscitate order, she refused to start resuscitation, asserting "there's no point."
A Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) tribunal found that Papandrea did not conduct an adequate clinical assessment. Her conclusion that the resident showed signs of irreversible death was deemed subjective and insufficient.
Further concerns were raised when Papandrea, when assisting a first responder, provided chest compressions that witnesses described as not deep enough, citing a reluctance to break the resident's ribs.
Papandrea has since acknowledged her actions were a "serious error in clinical judgement," admitting her belief was an assumption rather than a qualified clinical conclusion.
