Advertisement

Scottish nurse who contracted Ebola escorted back to hospital by police

Pauline Cafferkey, the Scottish nurse who contracted the Ebola virus, has been taken back into ho...
Newstalk
Newstalk

10.54 6 Oct 2016


Share this article


Scottish nurse who contracted...

Scottish nurse who contracted Ebola escorted back to hospital by police

Newstalk
Newstalk

10.54 6 Oct 2016


Share this article


Pauline Cafferkey, the Scottish nurse who contracted the Ebola virus, has been taken back into hospital, according to Sky News.

She was transported in an ambulance with a police escort to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow this morning from her home in Cambuslang.

Miss Cafferkey was infected with the virus while working in Sierra Leone in 2014.

Advertisement

She has been admitted to hospital three times following her return to the UK.

The children's nurse was cleared last month of professional misconduct, after she was accused of concealing her high temperature when she returned from West Africa. 

The UK's Nursing and Midwifery Council had argued that she had "potentially put the public at risk" after being cleared to fly home while in the early stages of Ebola.

And it said she damaged trust in the nursing profession.

Ms Cafferkey said she would never have knowingly put anyone in danger. 

An independent panel found her fitness to practise was not affected, and three charges against her were not proven.

It ruled that her judgement, when she was screened at Heathrow airport, had been so impaired by the developing illness that she could not be found guilty of misconduct.

Her lawyer, Joyce Cullen, said: ''She willingly put her life at risk to travel to Sierra Leone to work as a volunteer helping to treat people suffering from Ebola.

''She and hundreds of other volunteers played a vital role in saving lives, helping to curb the epidemic in extremely challenging circumstances.''

Ms Cafferkey was initially treated at the Royal Free Hospital in London, and was discharged in January 2015 after doctors said she had made a complete recovery and was not infectious.

But she was readmitted to hospital in October 2015 and again in February 2016 after suffering complications linked to the disease.

At one stage she was critically ill.

Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon tweeted: "Sending my very best wishes to Pauline Cafferkey. She has already suffered way too much - & all for trying to help others. Thoughts with her."


Share this article


Read more about

News

Most Popular