A NURSE has been struck off by her professional body following a misconduct hearing.

Although Philippa Clare Ralph has not worked as a nurse since 2008, when she was employed by East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, she was still on the nursing register and allowed to practise under certain conditions.

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She was sacked by the Royal Blackburn Hospital six years ago, and a Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) conduct and competence committee hearing last year found that a baby boy had ‘turned blue’ on the Critical Care Unit after Miss Ralph took him off a nasal continuous positive airway pressure, which keeps the windpipe open during sleep.

The regulator also found she attempted to weigh a baby when it was wrapped in clothes, rather than weighing it when it was naked, and needed prompting to wrap a baby in a blanket when its temperature was low.

She also admitted administering medication to a baby about nine hours after it was due, and telling colleagues that a baby was being given one litre of oxygen when it was being given just 0.1 litres.

She was cleared of five charges, including leaving babies wearing wet clothes, soiled nappies and covered in vomit, and inserting a feeding tube into an infant’s stomach when it was already full.

She was given a 15-month conditions of practise order, but has now been struck off the register following another hearing earlier this month.

The NMC panel said: “Miss Ralph had not expressed an intention to remain in the nursing profession. She had not given this panel any evidence as to the depth and character of her insight. She had not addressed the deficiencies in her nursing practice identified by the previous panel.”