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A senior nurse accused over failings linked to the deaths of prisoners was cleared of all wrong-doing after a panel heard she had begged for help.

Debbie Moore was one of four people hauled before a fitness to practise panel of the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), which has the power to strike nurses off the register, in relation to horrendous failings at the now defunct Liverpool Community Health trust (LCH).

The trust, which provided health care at HMP Liverpool between 2010 and 2018, was disbanded and taken over by Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust last year.

Ms Moore, head of prison health care until 2014, was accused of a raft of misconduct charges by the NMC, alongside fellow senior nurses Paul Lawrence and Deborah Dickerson, who also worked in the trust's prison division.

However the panel heard she was facing an "impossible" situation as the trust tried to slash 20% from its prison division in the space of 12 months.

The charges included failing to investigate deaths in custody, failing to escalate concerns about issues with prison health care, low staffing levels and medicine management and discouraging staff from reporting problems and concerns.

But this month an independent panel agreed with an application, made by Ms Moore's legal team, arguing that she had no case to answer - and ruled the evidence presented by the NMC did not even warrant a final hearing.

Ms Moore allowed details of the panel's determination to be published, which showed how she had repeatedly asked her bosses for new recruits due to staff shortages and struggled against endless cuts imposed by the trust.

Applications from Mr Lawrence and Ms Dickerson's legal teams also succeeded, but the details of the panel's determination have not been published.

The report said: "The panel heard evidence from numerous witnesses that staffing levels within the Prison were a persistent problem, which had a significant impact on the ability of you, (Mr Lawrence) and (Ms Dickerson) to provide care to patients.

(Image: Colin Lane/Liverpool Echo)

"The panel also had evidence that you repeatedly escalated this issue to your Divisional Manager and further up into the Trust’s governance structure."

An independent inquiry, chaired by Dr Bill Kirkup, was announced by then health minister Stephen Hammond in June amid concerns that around 150 deaths were not investigated properly between 2010 and 2018.

The trust had already been subject to a review by Dr Kirkup, who released a scathing report last year describing it as a “dysfunctional” organisation with a "bullying culture" that failed staff and patients.

The trust had pursued dangerous Cost Improvement Plans (CIPs) in a desperate bid to obtain Foundation Trust status, the review found.

This month the NMC panel highlighted the evidence of one of the trust's former divisional managers, who told them: "There was a ‘top down’ pressure to prioritise financial savings over clinical issues.

"The main focus of the Trust at the time was to achieve the CIPs in order to obtain Foundation Trust status. His division (which included the Prison) had a target of 20% cost savings over 12 months which he described as "impossible."

"He told the panel that, in his experience working in the NHS for 30 years, 4% is generally accepted as the safe and effective maximum annual saving."

The panel heard that a "deep dive" report was prepared by Ms Moore in 2013 identifying lack of permanent GPs, high levels of staff sickness, problems with retention of experienced staff and the potential deterioration of patient care as a result.

The report was handed to her bosses, but the panel heard nothing was done because her divisional manager was provided with "no money."

The panel also found that there was no clear policy in place for investigating deaths in custody, meaning there were not clear policies for Ms Moore to have breached.

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The ruling is likely to raise questions about the NMC's decision to launch fitness to practise proceedings against the three nurses, which still attempted to argue the action taken by Ms Moore was "inadequate."

A fourth case is due to resume in November against Helen Lockett, chief nurse and director of operations at LCH between 2011 and 2014, involving allegations of bullying, dishonesty and ignoring concerns.

The NMC declined to comment about the cases due to the ongoing proceedings against Ms Lockett.

The Royal College of Nursing, which provided legal representation for Ms Moore and her colleagues, also declined to comment.