A prisoner’s body had already entered the third stage of death when he was discovered by the nurse who was supposed to be monitoring him.
Vicky Tripodis was working a 12-hour shift at Sydney’s Long Bay prison, and failed to check on the 60-year-old inpatient for 10 hours, the Daily Telegraph reports.
Tripodis had her nursing licence suspended for six months following a Civil and Administrative Tribunal, after the man died during her February 5 and 6, 2015 shift.
The man, who was incarcerated for the rape and murder of a woman in the 1980s, suffered from several health issues including tracheal cancer, a left knee amputation, chronic lower back pain, a reflux disease and hypertension.
Vicky Tripodis was working a 12-hour shift at Sydney’s Long Bay prison (pictured), and failed to check on the 60-year-old inpatient for 10 hours
He also had a heart attack in 2014, as well as an operation to remove his larynx, which required the insertion of a tracheostomy tube – making it difficult for him to communicate.
Tripodis’ care was found to have fallen ‘significantly below the standard expected of a registered nurse, with it stating at least ‘two hourly visual observations were clinically required’ for the wheelchair-bound inmate.
The Health Care Complaints Commission argued Tripodi was clouded by her dislike of the patient and lost sight of his needs ‘as a vulnerable, disabled and ill patient within the prison environment’.
The nurse said while he was a ‘vulnerable patient’, she didn’t consider him to be in a critical condition.
Tripodis’ care was found to have fallen ‘significantly below the standard expected of a registered nurse
‘He was a difficult patient and had his bed removed because he used to hide and smoke behind the bed,’ she said.
A coronor determined the man’s causes of death to be from his multiple health ailments, and Tripodis was found guilty of professional misconduct.
Her registration is due to be reinstated after six months or once she completes a course to address her duty of care.