By Staff Reporter
A former ministry of defence official, Lebona Mokopanela, has belatedly welcomed a misconduct verdict by the Lesotho Nursing Council (LNC) against a nurse who gave unprescribed medication to his own mother in May 2022.
The mother died a few days after the incident. However, it could not be ascertained whether she passed on as a result of this medication since she had been sick for some time.
Following her death, Mokopanela who was brother to the deceased, lodged a complaint with the LNC in July last year against Sechaba Saidi, who is his nephew, for misconduct.
Mokopanela accused Saidi of unprofessional conduct after he allegedly injected his mother, Lizzy Mokopanela, with unprescribed medication.
The LNC conducted a disciplinary hearing on August 12, 2o22 and found Saidi guilty.
Mokopanela and Saidi were among those who testified on the stand.
“Although I learned about the judgment lately, I welcome the decision by the LNC panel which favoured me. I think this will go a long way to encourage nursing and midwifery professionals to behave in an ethical manner,” he commented to theReporter this week.
He said he had an interest in the case as the deceased was his sister while Saidi is his nephew who was bound to follow the code of practice for nurses and midwives.
“I was really concerned about his unacceptable behavior (towards his ailing mother and his sister ‘Matsiu Nkalimeng) as a nurse and midwife so a laid a complaint,” Mokopanela said.
Saidi who is registered with the LNC completed studies in general nursing and midwifery at the Maluti Adventist Nursing College in Mapoteng, Berea in 2017.
The Council’s disciplinary panel found him guilty of misconduct for flouting laws regulating members registered with the body.
It warned him not to involve himself in a similar misconduct or any misconduct that puts the nursing profession into disrepute within a period of two years.
The panel also ordered Saidi to pay incidental costs incurred to the tune of M3 990, within a period of three months.
It could not be established by the time of going for print yesterday whether Saidi had paid the money. His mobile was not available when this publication called him.
The complaint against Saidi was lodged with the council by Mokopanela in July last year.
He was then charged with two counts for contravention of the Lesotho Nursing Council Code of Professional Conduct for Nurses, Midwives and Nursing Assistants. The matter was heard on August 12 last year.
The disciplinary panel noted that on the 30th day of April 2022 in Khubetsoana, Maseru, the accused did not obtain “informed consent from your mother before injecting her with unprescribed medication while intoxicated thereby putting her health at risk.”
The LNC said by doing so, Saidi’s conduct breached its code of professional conduct for nurses, midwives and nursing assistants.
The code of conduct, according to the ruling, relates to the safe, competent, respectful and ethical practice legislated to guide the nurses and midwives in the exercise of their professional duties.
The council also revealed that its investigations had revealed that Saidi was negligent as he gave his mother medication that was not prescribed by the doctor on May 5, 2021.
She later died two days later.
In its judgement, the panel said: “He (Saidi) did not contact the nurse and his sister who were the ones taking care of his mother.
“He did not take vital signs before injecting his mother with the medication. He also did not monitor the reaction of medication on his mother,” the panel said.
Under the prosecution of Lemohang Molibeli, the disciplinary committee further noted that a reasonable nurse under the circumstances would not have acted the way Saidi did.
The panel ruled in its six-paged judgment that Saidi had insulted his sister on April 16, 2021 while visiting their sick mother at Maseru Private, but he had gone there as a visitor and not in his official capacity as a nurse. He was, however, not found guilty on this second count.
According to the LNC findings, he did not read his mother’s health book or take vital signs prior to or post injection.
The panel said before coming up with an appropriate judgment, it had considered the nature of the offence, the interest of the accused and the interest of the society. It said that it had to strike a proper balance between these various factors.
Having considered carefully the mitigation by Saidi, in particular that he is a first time offender and he supports his father and his mother-in-law, the panel warned him to avoid involvement in similar offence or any other that would put the nursing profession in further disrepute.
In his testimony, Mokopanela said his sister was admitted at the Thetsane hospital after falling sick during the Covid-19 pandemic.
He said one day when he visited the deceased in Khubetsoana, a “very drunk” Saidi arrived holding a syringe full of light brown medication.
“He injected his mother with it. As he did that, he did not consult ‘Matsiu who was taking care of the patient.
“The witness (Mokopanela) did not say anything because Sechaba (Saidi) was drunk but he got worried because he did not know the medication in the syringe and it was not prescribed by the doctor. Thereafter, Sechaba left and he also left,” the panel judgment read.
It emerged during the proceedings that ‘Matsiu was given the deceased’s hospital medication at the time she was discharged. She was entrusted with responsibility to care for her with the assistance of a nurse.
Mokopanela’s testimony relating to Saidi’s injection and insults was corroborated by that of ‘Matsiu Nkalimeng.
The incident was investigated by another witness, Victoria Nteso, a member of the Professional Conduct Committee.
After interviewing the witnesses, Nteso concluded that Saidi’s behaviour was unethical and unprofessional “in as much as he abused alcohol and uttered insults to her sister, and insubordination by refusing when called by sister in charge in Maseru Private Hospital”.
“He also portrayed unusual behaviour of housebreaking and stealing,” Nteso had told the hearing. She did not elaborate.
After the LNC closed its case, the accused testified that his mother was sick and was admitted at the Maseru Private Hospital where he and his wife paid for the hospital bills through ‘Matsiu. He confirmed that ‘Matsiu took care of his mother after her release from the hospital.
Furthermore, he testified that he had some misunderstanding with ‘Matsiu and did not insult her but rather left the hospital heartbroken. In addition, he told the panel that they were not on good terms with his uncle, father, Rethabile Mokopanela and ‘Matsiu. He said he was informed by Rethabile that his mother had been discharged and he came from ‘Mantsonyane. According to Saidi, the mother was weak, prompting him to go to a pharmacy where he described his mother’s sickness.
He added that the pharmacist prescribed the vitamin Bco injection with which he injected her mother. Upon returning to ‘Mantsonynae, his sister did not update him about the condition of her mother.
When cross examined by the panel, Saidi admitted that he failed to read his mother’s health book and or take vital signs.
Saidi’s wife, Ralia, who also testified before the panel, claimed no knowledge of her husband’s injection of his mother and the insults hurled at his sister ‘Matsiu.
Saidi had pleaded not guilty.
