A senior midwife who abandoned a woman just as she was giving birth and later failed to notice when another was having a haemorrhage has been struck off.


Gizelle Wilkinson was given the punishment by The Nursing and Midwifery Council following three complaints against her over a 15 month period at Whipps Cross Hospital in Leytonstone.


A disciplinary panel at the council said she had shown "a lack of respect for patients" and had caused them harm.


On one occasion in March 2011 a woman was left in severe pain when Ms Wilkinson failed to recognise that she had suffered a "fourth degree tear" during labour, which later required surgery.


She also ignored aspects of the woman's birth plan, such as request for 'skin on skin' contact with her baby.


During another case in February 2011 she failed to comply with a doctor's request to administer a hormone injection, left the woman in stirrups for more than 40 minutes and then failed to realise she was having a type of post-birth haemorrhage with a retained placenta.
 

Luckily when the doctor returned he noticed the extent of the bleeding and rushed the woman to an emergency operation to remove the placenta.
 

Ms Wilkinson admitted a series of failings and apologised to the women, but the panel said her actions had risked bringing the midwifery profession into disrepute.


The first complaint was made against her following an incident in January 2010.


The panel heard that when the woman began to give birth, Ms Wilkinson left the room to seek assistance, when she should have pressed an emergency help button.
 

She returned, but then left the room again minutes later, and the baby was born without any midwife present – something Ms Wilkinson left off the patient records.
 

This was despite concerns that the umbilical cord may have been wrapped around the child's neck.


The parents complained and Ms Wilkinson was put under a period of supervision by management at Whipps Cross Hospital, but was still allowed to practice.


Following the second and third complaints the hospital trust launched an investigation and she was sacked in July 2011.


The Nursing and Midwifery Council said in its report following the disciplinary hearing: “The panel judged that the behaviour which led to your misconduct caused actual harm to patients and could seriously undermine the public confidence in the nursing and midwifery professions and the standards expected of midwives.”

She has 28 days to appeal.