Secretly recorded video show WWII vet calling for help while US nurses laugh

Two American nurses have lost their licenses after US courts unsealed a secretly recorded video showing the health professionals laughing as they struggle to start an oxygen machine while their patient, a World War II veteran, says he cannot breathe.

The video shows the 89-year-old Georgian man repeatedly calling for help, complaining of difficulty breathing.

It also captures the moment nurses fail to perform CPR on the patient as they laugh while the try to start an oxygen machine.

James Dempsey's family sued the nursing home – the Northeast Atlanta Health and Rehabilitation Centre in 2014 – and declined to comment on the release of the video due to a settlement.

The video was unsealed after pressure from a local news station, WXIA-TV.

The station said the nurses involved did not surrender their licenses until after video was sent to The Georgia Board of Nursing in September.

The release of the video comes amongst a number of allegations against nursing homes in the US.