A NURSE in a North-East residential home denied a catalogue of complaints against her at a disciplinary hearing yesterday.

Jacqueline Louise Yates slept while on duty, swore when referring to patients, and said walking up stairs would do an arthritic resident good, the UK Central Council for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting was told.

Between February 1998 and July 1999, the staff nurse worked at Nessfield Nursing Home, in Lazenby, Middlesbrough.

David Glendinning, for the council, said the committee would hear that Mrs Yates - who worked nightshifts - regularly slept on duty for several hours.

Occasionally, the care assistants would have to wake Mrs Yates at 6am.

On one occasion, during hand-over, it was alleged a resident was taken to the lift by a care assistant who found it was not working. She asked for the lift to be reset and it was claimed Mrs Yates said: "Make her walk upstairs, it will do her good."

Jacqueline Llewelyn, who was deputy matron at the time, described the way Mrs Yates spoke as "very flippant and uncaring".

Mrs Llewelyn said it was not appropriate for the resident to walk up the stairs. "She had severe arthritis and her joints creaked audibly," adding that the elderly resident could only walk a short distance.

Mrs Llewelyn, describing how Mrs Yates spoke those words, said: "She said it in quite a mean manner, and it was quite shocking."

Care assistant Tracy Rowe told the committee that Mrs Yates slept on shifts they did together, although she said everyone did so at some point. She claimed Mrs Yates had told her to "get her head down" on some occasions.

Miss Rowe said that Mrs Yates slept for between four and six hours.

Asked how she knew the nurse was asleep, Miss Rowe said: "Because buzzers would go and she would not flinch."

The hearing continues