Nurse accused of inappropriate hand gesture quits

The nurse agreed to quit after the unexpected death of a patient, although she disputed the claims

A nurse who was accused of making an "inappropriate" hand gesture after a patient died has quit.

The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) said Maribel Tagal, an adult nurse in Buckinghamshire, was accused of not escalating the patient's worsening condition during the night shift on 9 June 2022.

Ms Tagal allegedly failed to carry out CPR when the person was unresponsive and made "inappropriate gestures to colleagues that the patient had died by putting her hand across her neck".

She disputed the claims, but applied to be removed from the NMC register.

A report from the NMC, recently published on its website, said concerns over her fitness to practise were referred to the NMC in December 2022.

In May of this year, the regulator recommended training as there was a "case for her to answer".

The NMC said the allegations had not been "substantially proved" at any of its statutory committees.

Ms Tagal disputed that she found the patient unresponsive at 05:30 BST that morning, and claimed they were still breathing.

The report noted, however, that she had completed extra resuscitation training since the incident.

In September, the nurse applied to be removed from the register.

An assistant registrar, who made the decision to agree the removal, said: "The concerns in this case are very serious and raise questions about Maribel Tagal’s ability to respond appropriately in an emergency situation."