Nurse sacked after dying man was forced to phone for water
A nurse has been sacked after a dying patient was forced to phone the switchboard of the hospital he was in to beg for water, it has been claimed.
Derek Sauter, 60, was left unmonitored for 11 hours at Queen Mary's Hospital, Sidcup, and used his mobile phone to call for help.
When a doctor came he was allegedly turned away by ward nurse Caroline Lowe, who said Mr Sauter was "over-reacting". The grandfather, who had a chest infection, died eight hours later of pneumonia.
Miss Lowe is reported to have told his widow that Mr Sauter should have been prosecuted for harassing the doctor on call.
A hospital investigation concluded that Mr Sauter would have survived were it not for Miss Lowe's failings. The case is being investigated by the Nursing and Midwifery Council.
