A NURSE has been struck off after an autistic teenager in her care was left with a life-altering brain injury after swallowing an ‘excessive’ amount of swimming pool water.

The teenager, who was nineteen at the time of the incident in 2014 and has the mental age of a young child, was injured following a trip to Dudley Leisure Centre where she drank pool water.

She was in the care of Carole Halstead, an experienced nurse and director of Halesowen based Freetime Care Services.

Mrs Halstead was suspended for 12 months in June 2018 by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) and a review of the suspension by the NMC earlier this month has now found that Mrs Halstead should be struck off the register.

A report of the hearing stated the panel considered Mrs Halstead to display a ‘significant lack of insight into the seriousness and gravity of her misconduct.’

The report did however acknowledge that the incident was the only one in Mrs Halstead’s ‘unblemished’ nursing career over 24 years.

An earlier report stated that Mrs Halstead ‘had been made aware of concerns’ raised by the teenager’s mother and her school about the girl’s propensity to drink ‘excessive’ amounts of water, and that her time in the swimming pool needed to be limited to ten minutes.

The report also said that Mrs Halstead denied she had been told about her patient’s habit of drinking excessive water and the need to limit her time in the pool to ten minutes.

After the incident in the pool the teen began vomiting water and fell into a coma, requiring treatment for brain swelling at Birmingham’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital. She now requires 24-hour care as a result.

Mrs Halstead, who is now retired as a learning disability nurse, did not attend the hearing and requested to be removed from the register.

Freetime Care Services confirmed that Mrs Halstead has retired as a nurse after ‘decades of unblemished and dedicated service’, but remains as a director at Freetime.

The company, on behalf of Mrs Halstead, added: “Carole Halstead was never told by anyone about the ten-minute rule or that Patient A drank excessive amounts of water.

“Carole Halstead continues to strongly deny any wrongdoing (though accepts there was not a written risk assessment and there should have been), during her direct care of Patient A. This view is in direct contrast to the findings of the NMC so attendance at the hearing would have been futile.

“Complaints have been made to the NMC about the handling and findings of the case.”