A coroner blasted a care home nurse for refusing to attempt resuscitation on a patient.

Instead of attempting CPR on 59-year-old Susan Burgess, nurse Winifred Jozi called the non-emergency NHS Direct service, Kirklees Coroner’s Court heard yesterday.

Mrs Burgess – a resident of Holme House care home, Cleckheaton – had no pulse and was not breathing when she was found at around 6.20am on December 5, 2012.

The grandmother, who had dementia brought on prematurely by a head injury sustained in a road accident, was pronounced dead an hour later.

A postmortem found she had died from blood clots in her lungs coupled with pneumonia.

The inquest heard Mrs Burgess, originally from Earlsheaton, Dewsbury, was seen alive in her chair at 5.45am but found unresponsive at 6.20am.

Mrs Jozi, the only nurse on duty at the time, was summoned but refused to attempt CPR on Mrs Burgess because it was ‘not beneficial’, the court was told.

The nurse, who was sacked following the incident, called NHS Direct and was told an operator would call back within two hours, the court heard.

But other staff, unhappy at Mrs Jozi’s decision, called 999 and were told by the emergency operator to try to resuscitate Mrs Burgess before an ambulance arrived.

Coroner Oliver Longstaff accepted that Mrs Burgess was unlikely to have survived – even if CPR had been attempted.

But Mr Longstaff criticised Mrs Jozi, who has been suspended from working as a nurse pending an investigation by the Nursing and Midwifery Council.

Mr Longstaff said: “It seems Mrs Jozi didn’t look for a pulse. She took the proverbial ‘one look’ at her and decided she was dead...

“I simply don’t understand how Nurse Jozi in her professional capacity could accept a callback in two hours as an appropriate response to an unexpected death.”

Mr Longstaff praised concerned staff for calling 999 but criticised Holme House.

He said: “It seems to me although that is the home’s policy, that policy was not as widely known in the home as it should have been.”

Mrs Burgess’s daughter, Julie Marsden, added: “I’m absolutely appalled with the actions of Nurse Jozi...

“The lack of respect from the nurse and the lack of action... it just hurts me.”

A spokesperson for Croft Care, which runs Holme House, said: “The management of the home found that the registered nurse did not follow the protocols that the home had in place.

“The home reported this to Kirklees Council Safeguarding Team and the police at the time of the incident and the company carried out a full investigation into her actions culminating in her being dismissed from her post and her actions being reported to the Nursing and Midwifery Council.

“The due diligence of the other staff who did follow the protocol that was in place ensured a professional response to the poor practise of the nurse in charge.

“The company is disappointed that it was not invited to attend or comment at the inquest.

“The manager of the home worked closely with the family at the time of the incident and the company offers its deepest sympathy at the loss of their loved one.”

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