A nurse has been struck off after putting patients at risk through a string of “clinical failures”.

Ruffa Hernandez, who worked at Worthing Hospital, was found by a Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) panel to have demonstrated a “pattern of incompetence” over an 11-month period between August 2022 and June 2023.

The panel identified repeated failures in patient care, including incorrect medication administration, poor record-keeping and inadequate use of aseptic techniques.

Patients were “put at risk” during her time in the role, the panel found, and “were caused physical and emotional harm as a result of Miss Hernandez’s lack of competence”.

It was stated that Miss Hernandez incorrectly administered paracetamol without observing the required four-hour interval between doses on several occasions.

On or around March 20, 2023, she redressed a patient’s necrotic foot wound without using sterile gloves and placed the wound care pack on the bed, both breaches of aseptic technique, the panel said.

On December 31, 2022, she gave insulin to a patient nearly two hours late, failed to check their blood sugar beforehand and incorrectly filled the syringe.

Further concerns included the failure to recognise signs of patient deterioration and persistent issues with time management.

Documentation errors were repeated throughout her time in the role, including inaccurately recording administered medications, wrongly entering prospective care at the start of shifts and failing to keep accurate patient notes.

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The NMC panel said: “A patient was put at risk and could have been caused physical harm as a result of Miss Hernandez’s misconduct.

“Miss Hernandez’s misconduct had breached the fundamental tenets of the nursing profession and therefore brought its reputation into disrepute.”

While the panel acknowledged that Miss Hernandez had attempted to reflect on her actions, it found her reflective accounts “very limited” and lacking in genuine learning or understanding of the seriousness of her failures.

“The panel considered that there was a pattern of incompetence over a significant period of time,” it said.

Aggravating factors included failures in safe medication administration, poor planning, lack of initiative, inadequate pressure sore assessment, failure to identify patient deterioration and incomplete personal improvement plans.

The panel also noted an impact on patients, relatives and colleagues due to her poor communication skills.

Mitigating circumstances included a lack of previous regulatory findings, evidence of a toxic and bullying work environment and the pressures of working during the Covid-19 pandemic.

There were also concerns raised about inadequate support from senior staff.

The NMC concluded that Miss Hernandez’s fitness to practise was impaired.

The panel ordered Miss Hernandez be struck off the register at the end of her current suspension order on May 20.