A NURSE, who accidentally gave a baby a fatal overdose of salt solution, is also being investigated for posting a picture of herself asleep at work on the internet.

Staff nurse Louisa Swinburn allegedly posted a picture of herself asleep next to baby Samuel McIntosh's cot on a social networking site.

She is now being investigated by the Nursing and Midwifery Council and has been dismissed from her job at the Queen's Medical Centre.

Nottingham Coroners' Court heard yesterday that Samuel died after a "dreadful mistake" at the QMC. The four-month-old was born prematurely on March 1, weighing just 1lb 4oz.

He suffered from breathing problems and a perforated bowel, but the inquest heard that by June 6 he weighed more than 6lb and "was starting to hold his own", according to neonatologist Dr Stephen Wardle. Following surgery on his abdomen his salt levels dropped and he had to be put on a drip.

But instead of the 5ml he was prescribed, he was actually given 50ml. This caused Samuel, of the Arches, Mansfield, to become dehydrated, lose a lot of weight and caused irreparable damage to his brain. He died on July 7.

The inquest heard that Nurse Swinburn and Sister Karen Thomas were involved in measuring out the solution.

Sister Thomas said: "I remember very clearly what I was supposed to do. I can't remember at any point being uncertain. I don't know how this happened."

Both women said they didn't know how the mistake had occurred.

They said they had been interrupted once as they drew up the mixture when a doctor asked Nurse Swinburn about another patient, but they hadn't stopped the procedure of making up the solution.

Returning a narrative verdict, Notts Coroner Dr Nigel Chapman said: "There's no doubt that a dreadful mistake took place but drug errors are more common than we know. In this case there were two people that made a drug error because of distraction by others.

"Samuel died from complications of an overdose of sodium. This was drawn up incorrectly and administered by two nurses."

Sister Thomas still works at the QMC but has been removed from clinical duties that involve direct patient care. Nurse Swinburn has been dismissed for gross misconduct.

Both women are now being investigated by the Nursing and Midwifery Council in relation to the incident.

It emerged after the inquest that Nurse Swinburn also faces allegations that she was sleeping on duty and posted a picture of herself at Samuel's bedside on a website.

Since Samuel's death Nottingham University Hospitals Trust (NUH) has changed procedures in the high dependency unit.

Speaking after the inquest, Paul Balen, who represented the family, said: "It's a huge tragedy that the magnificent work of all the doctors and staff at the QMC with the progress that Samuel made was undermined by the gross negligence of two nurses.

"The family regret that the coroner felt unable to return a verdict of unlawful killing."

In a statement released after the verdict, Dr Stephen Fowlie, Medical Director for Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, extended 'sincere sympathies' and apologised unreservedly for the failings.

He said: "We have changed the way salt solutions are used and given to ensure that these mistakes aren’t repeated. We have new guidance to minimise the need for concentrated salt solution, changed the infusion prescription chart on the neonatal unit and introduced a ‘tabard system’ to ensure nurses are not interrupted when administering drugs.

“We have remained in contact with Sam’s parents throughout the investigation and have met with them on several occasions. We appreciate that we cannot change what happened or compensate for the loss of their baby, and we are determined there will be no repeat of our mistakes.”