Death of nurse avoidable, hearing told

Saturday 23rd October 2010, 2:59PM BST.

Dr Dolores Moyano Ontiveros

The death of a healthy Jersey nurse after a routine procedure was ‘entirely avoidable’, a GMC misconduct hearing heard yesterday.

Heather Norton, counsel for the GMC, told the hearing yesterday that the operating doctor’s actions during the operation on 17 October 17 2006 meant she was still an ‘unsafe doctor’.

Dr Dolores Moyano Ontiveros carried out the routine procedure on Elizabeth Rourke, who died hours later from massive blood loss. Ms Norton criticised Dr Moyano’s decision to operate and told the panel that the doctor had made two serious failures.

Dr Moyano, a locum registrar in obstetrics and gynaecology, faced a Royal Court manslaughter trial last year, but was cleared. She is now subject to a GMC misconduct hearing where she could be struck off. A decision on that is due to be reached by next Tuesday.

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