A BEOLEY nurse has denied responsibility for a diabetic woman patient allegedly being left overnight in a chair instead of a bed at Redditch’s Alexandra Hospital.

The accusation was made against Sheeba Varghese at Birmingham Employment Tribunal by the Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust.

Mrs Varghese who is of Asian origin, also denied she failed to record the blood-sugar levels of the same patient.

Her denials came as she made legal claims against the trust for unfair dismissal and race discrimination.

The trust, which opposed her legal claims, told the tribunal Mrs Varghese had been suspended and eventually dismissed following a disciplinary hearing where she was accused of neglecting the patient.

Mrs Varghese was said to have been on the night shift when the woman patient was alleged to have been left in a chair overnight instead being found a bed, but she denied she had neglected the woman.

Helen Barney, representing the trust, said two nurses had already been dismissed for failing to record the blood-sugar levels of a another diabetic patient and accused Mrs Varghese of committing a similar breach of hospital policy.

“The rules are clearly stated that you complete records as soon as possible after monitoring a patient with diabetes,” Miss Barney told Mrs Varghese.

“It was important to monitor the patient regularly."

Mrs Varghese then became involved in a dispute with Miss Barney over how many times a day the patient needed monitoring for diabetes.

Mrs Varghese said she had been struggling to cope on the night shift and had asked for help. “But they did not look at my situation,” she alleged.

“I also reported a failure about the hand over of staff at the start of the night shift."

When Miss Barney accused Mrs Varghese of not including that allegation in her original evidence Mrs Varghese replied: "There has been a false record of what I said."

Miss Barney told Mrs Varghese: "That is a serious allegation to make."

Miss Barney said other nurses had denied that Mrs Varghese had asked for help on the night.

Mrs Varghese said the correct version was that they said they could not remember.

Mrs Barney said other nurses reported that the night shift in question had been busy but that they had been able to manage and take their normal breaks.

The hearing has been listed for a seven days and a decision by tribunal judge Sherri Warren is expected at a later date.