Whittington nurse suspended for dishonesty
Staff at the Whittington Hospital were said to be 'surprised' when they first learned of Mr Di Giacomo's research paper. Picture: Anthony Devlin - Credit: PA Archive/Press Association Ima
A Whittington nurse has been suspended for 12 months after research cited in a pioneering medical study he authored was found not to have taken place.
Michele Di Giacomo claimed to have conducted a pilot study into the effectiveness of different catheters testing 300 cancer patients over six months.
The results from the research, said to have taken place in 2007, were published in the prestigious British Journal of Nursing in 2009.
The study has since been cited 36 times by other research publications and is thought to have gathered global influence among the medical community.
But questions surrounding the legitimacy of the paper emerged after staff at the hospital in Magdala Avenue, Archway, claimed to be completely unaware of the study ever taking place.
Facing a Nurse and Midwifery Council (NMC) hearing last week, Mr Di Giacomo admitted to having many factual errors and flaws in the study.
While insisting it was simply “vanity” and “foolishness” to blame, the panel deemed his conduct to also be dishonest and served him with a 12 month suspension order.
