A BLACKBURN nurse who was struck off for sleeping on duty and painting her nails during an operation has failed to win her job back.
Maureen Whittle, 54, had her application for re-instatement to the nursing register refused at a hearing of the Nursing and Midwifery Council's conduct committee yesterday.
Whittle, the night-sister-in-charge at Queens Park Hospital's gynaecology ward, had painted her nails while a patient, who was having an abortion, was bleeding heavily. The nurse had also slept during a fire alarm while on duty and snapped at colleagues for waking her up.
The offences happened between December 24, 1993, and June 25, 1994. Whittle had worked at the hospital for 15 years before she was struck off in 1996.
Whittle, of Scotland Bank Terrace, Blackburn, told the hearing that she was an honest and hard-working person who, at the time, was having problems coping with her diabetes.
She said: "I am greatly ashamed and sorry for all of these mistakes. I feel so bad. I have learnt my lesson and I will never allow this to happen again."
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