A NURSE left a heart attack patient to die alone and then made a catalogue of blunders while under supervision at an Exeter hospital, a misconduct hearing was told yesterday.

Anitha Kuttappan, 52, failed to accompany the man while he waited for a scan at the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital on January 17, 2006.

Earlier that day, the nurse failed to administer the 43-year-old, referred to as patient A, with medication via a drip, the Nursing and Midwifery Council heard.

Staff nurse Nicole McGill told the hearing she gave Kuttappan specific instructions regarding his treatment before going off duty from the hospital's Tall Ward.

"He was a particularly unwell man," said Miss McGill, "She (Kuttappan) was taking over the care from me."

Miss McGill said she pointed out a medical chart to Kuttappan for the man, detailing his prescribed treatment.

"I said 'this has been prescribed. Do you mind doing that?'" added Miss McGill.

Patient A, diagnosed with pneumonia and hypertension, had also been suffering from severe abdominal pain, the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) heard.

But Kuttappan failed to administer the patient's drip properly before sending him for a scan.

Patient A suffered another heart attack and died after attempts to resuscitate him failed.

Kuttappan later told colleagues the scan department had told her to leave him and that she needed to get on with her drugs round, it is claimed.

Elizabeth Forbes, for the NMC, said after patient A died, Kuttappan was put on "supervised practice" on a respiratory ward at the same hospital.

But she blundered again on July 12 when she used a 2ml syringe instead of a 10ml syringe for a intravenous drug on a woman patient, referred to as patient B.

The committee heard Kuttappan bungled a second procedure on the same patient that day when she failed to close a surgically-exposed entryway for treatment.

Mrs Forbes said: "This nurse had forgotten to bring with her a bung to close the exposed port. She left the port exposed for approximately 10 minutes."

Mrs Forbes said that five days later, Kuttappan incorrectly increased a third patient's oxygen rate to nine litres and then failed to inform doctors. Kuttappan practiced as a nurse for 12 years in India before re-locating to Britain and finding work at the RD&E.

She is now working under supervision at the Sidmouth Nursing Home in Sidmouth.

Kuttappan, who lives in Gillingham, Dorset, denies failing to administer prescribed IV fluids to patient A on January 17, 2006, leaving the port to patient B's Total Implanted Venous Access Device open for approximately 10 minutes on July 17, 2006 and increasing patient C's oxygen rate to nine litres on July 17, 2006.

She admits sending patient A unescorted for X-ray, sending the same patient unescorted for a CT scan, both on January 17, 2006, incorrectly using a 2ml syringe on patient B on July 12, 2006 and failing to inform the clinical team of patient C's oxygen rate increase on July 17, 2006.

If committee members rule Kuttappan's fitness to practice is impaired she can be struck off the medical register.

The hearing continues.