A care home manager left a resident lying in faeces and urine, a misconduct panel has heard.
Joanne Marie King was the manager of the Sowerby House care home in Thirsk, North Yorkshire, when she failed to ensure the man, known as Resident B, was being adequately cared for.
He was found lying in faeces and urine by a district nurse student who reported what she found to safeguarding teams.
Miss King resigned with immediate effect a day after the incident, on July 15, 2016.
A misconduct hearing which concluded earlier this month heard she was manager at the home between the end of June 2015 to July 2016.
The panel said: “Your failure to uphold Resident B’s dignity when left to lay in faeces and urine was serious misconduct, causing the risk of pressure sores and infection to an already vulnerable resident.”
King also failed to ensure two patients’ dietary requirements were met or keep adequate records. She did not keep staff up to date with their training, or ensure new starters undertook the right training after starting.
King accepted that the failings should never have happened and said she hoped people remember the good she had done.
She said she had “learnt an exceptionally valuable lesson, and it will not happen again”, adding in a statement: “Was I a perfect Home Manager – no I am human. I was stretched too far with little support. Do I believe I am fit to practice – yes I do. Do I want to manage again – no I do not.”
The home was not inspected by the CQC while King was in charge, but a check three months later downgraded its rating from ‘good’ to ‘inadequate’.
The nurse, who is still working as an agency nurse three days a week, was cleared of a string of other allegations including claims she left a resident in an ant-infested room and left another patient covered in urine.
Recommended reading:
- Teacher spared jail despite child abuse videos banned from re-entering classroom
- Shock as woman who went to bed to sleep off migraine woke up with Geordie accent
- Kieran Trippier announced as ambassador at hospice amid Bayern Munich rumours
Get more from The Northern Echo and start 2024 informed with 50% off an annual subscription or enjoy 3 months for just £3. Dive into local news and fulfill your resolution to stay updated. Click here.
The panel heard her behaviour “plainly brings the profession (nursing) into disrepute” and that “residents were placed at real risk of harm”.
A panel found Miss King’s fitness to practice as a nurse was impaired.
She will still be allowed to work but will have conditions imposed upon her for the next 12 months.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel