An incompetent midwife abandoned her patients and made a host of errors with drugs and record keeping – including recording a live baby as being dead inside the mother.

Lorraine Bruniges was reported to the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) regarding her work at Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust.

The NMC heard that Mrs Bruniges’ work at Calderdale Royal Hospital had been littered with errors over a two-year period from 2009 and she was subject to two investigations.

In December 2013 she was issued with a final written warning after she left the hospital while on duty without providing an adequate handover or informing the appropriate person.

Then in March 2014 problems with her record keeping and administration of drugs returned.

That month she was also accused of not properly caring for a patient who required surgery.

On May 23 last year she incorrectly recorded a patient as being induced as her baby had died inside her rather than because her waters had broken. The error was quickly spotted and corrected by another member of staff.

The NMC said no patients or babies were harmed under her care but despite significant support from her employer she had been unable to work to the required standards.

Mrs Bruniges, who began her career at the trust in 2001, agreed to quit her role at the hospitals on February 13, 2015.

Head of Midwifery, Anne-Marie Henshaw, told the NMC probe that “Mrs Bruniges has received close supervision from all her colleagues which has meant that the women in her care have not suffered direct harm as a result of these incidents.”

She added: “Mrs Bruniges is not capable of working in the capacity of a registered midwife…without close supervision. Whether this is as a result of ill health, or conduct, the fact remains that Mrs Bruniges is not carrying out the role of a registered midwife in its entirety.

“To allow Mrs Bruniges to continue in her role as a registered midwife could potentially result in harm to women in her care.”

The NMC panel has suspended Mrs Bruniges for 18 months – which will be reviewed every six months.

She may face a ‘fitness to practice’ hearing which could lead to her being struck-off, banning her from working as a midwife for five years.

In a statement for the Examiner, Anne-Marie Henshaw, said: “A documentation error was identified through our usual checking procedures and acted upon.

“The trust has acted responsibly and in line with trust and national guidelines.”