A NURSE who worked for an agency while signed off sick has admitted causing the death of a terminally-ill Hampshire man.

Kadiatu Harris accepted failing to properly check the ventilator during a night shift at the home of 39 year-old Matthew Simmonds.

Harris had been suspended from her job at Poole Hospital NHS Foundation Trust for a series of drug administration blunders.

She also agreed to provide care for Mr Simmonds, who was dying from a rare genetic condition called von Hippel-Lindau disease, at his home in Oakmont Road, Chandler's Ford, Hampshire.

Mr Simmonds died on 6 July 2011 after his ventilator was turned off.

Harris originally denied causing his death but has now admitted the allegation before a fitness to practise panel of the Nursing and Midwifery Council in central London.

She was later signed off sick with stress by her GP but began working for Wimbourne Nursing Agency at Salisbury, Yeovil, Romsey, Wimbourne Victoria and Dorchester County hospitals throughout June and July 2011.

Today the NMC panel heard from Harris' colleague at Poole Hospital, Marianna Reji, who said that Harris had asked her to cover her on a number of occasions during her time there.

She said: 'Kadi (Kadiatu Harris) said she was busy and would ask me to keep an eye on her patient if she went to the toilet or needed to change equipment for a patient.

'It was usually only between 2-3 minutes, no longer than 5 minutes, I don't remember it being for a longer period of time.

'There was a buddy system in place where we would look after each others patients when we needed to but I couldn't always leave my patient because he was very agitated.

'I never saw her leave the bedside unattended.'

Harris admits three allegations of incorrectly administering medication, one allegation of failing to check a patient's infusion line and 13 allegations of working agency shifts whilst signed off sick.

She admits failing to ensure that Mr Simmonds' ventilator equipment had been correctly changed during handover and failing to ensure it was functioning correctly, and that her failures caused the death of the patient.

She denies deliberately lowering the volume of another patient's vital signs monitor at Poole Hospital, failing to inform her colleagues and failing to handover to another nurse properly.

The hearing continues.