Nurse Accused of Patient Care Lapses and Inappropriate Gesture Resigns

A nurse has resigned after being accused of making an “inappropriate” hand gesture following a patient’s death. The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) reported that Maribel Tagal, an adult nurse in Buckinghamshire, faced allegations of failing to escalate the patient’s deteriorating condition during a night shift on June 9, 2022. Ms. Tagal was also alleged to have not performed CPR when the individual became unresponsive and to have made “inappropriate gestures to colleagues that the patient had died by putting her hand across her neck.” Despite disputing these claims, she applied to be removed from the NMC register. A report from the NMC, recently published on its website, indicated that concerns regarding her fitness to practice were referred to the council in December 2022. In May of the current year, the regulatory body recommended training, stating there was a “case for her to answer.” The NMC clarified that the allegations had not been “substantially proved” by any of its statutory committees. Ms. Tagal contested the claim that she found the patient unresponsive at 05:30 BST that morning, asserting that they were still breathing. The report, however, noted that she had completed additional resuscitation training since the incident. The nurse formally requested removal from the register in September. An assistant registrar, who approved the removal, stated: “The concerns in this case are very serious and raise questions about Maribel Tagal’s ability to respond appropriately in an emergency situation.”