Hearing Told That Aspirin Was ‘A Mystery’ To Care Home Nurse

A care home nurse who understood “nothing about medication” did not even know what an aspirin was for, a hearing has heard. Nobantu Dlayiya’s bosses looked on aghast as the 61-year-old struggled to make sense of the medication rounds at the Pinetree Lodge care home in Gateshead.

South African-born Ms Dlayiya never spoke to residents when feeding and dressing them, grunted one word replies when asked questions, and told her boss: “‘I only listen when I’m interested.”

David Glendinning, for the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), told its Professional Conduct Committee in London: “When Dlayiya began work, the home manager found it difficult to understand her accent and on some occasions when she was asked a question, she did not give an answer.

“Communication was difficult from the beginning. Gradually staff began to realise that unless Dlayiya was spoken to, then she would not speak and often when spoken to, she would only give a one-word answer. Dlayiya did not communicate with the residents at all. Dlayiya was often told how to speak to residents. Nevertheless she was seen to wash, dress and feed them without speaking to them.”

Mr Glendinning said after her first handover, Dlayiya gave colleagues only some of the crucial information they needed to know about the residents. Jocelyn Thompson, the home’s deputy manager, was allocated as Ms Dlayiya’s mentor for the seven weeks she worked there between February and April 2004.

On her first medication round, Ms Thompson asked the nurse if there was anything on it she didn’t understand, but she did not reply. Mr Glendinning said: “Ms Thompson observed her carrying out the round and seemed to form the view that it was as if she had never given out medication before.

“She dispersed too much medication and on each occasion Ms Thompson was there to make sure the correct amounts were administered. She seemed to struggle with dosages, especially in liquid form. She did not appear familiar with the medication. She was asked what particular medication was for. Ms Thompson asked her if she knew what aspirin was for and she did not know. The most common medicine administered in an elderly care home is aspirin and she did not know what aspirin was used for.”

Ms Thompson said on one occasion she saw Ms Dlayiya pour out three times the correct amount of drugs for one resident. Ms Thompson and the manager, Kathleen Bailey, were alarmed at Ms Dlayiya’s apparent lack of understanding and communication skills and called a meeting with her on March 8.

Mr Glendinning said: “During the meeting she was asked about language and she said: ‘I only listen when I’m interested’. They were surprised at how good her English was because prior to that, nobody had heard Dlayiya speak so clearly.” Ms Bailey also had concerns about Ms Dlayiya’s movement of patients and because there was no improvement in her nursing and communication, she was sacked at the end of March.

Ms Thompson later told the hearing how the staff tried to make the South African feel at home, but got nothing in response. She said: “We wanted to offer her support. We didn’t want her to feel upset. She had come a long way from a foreign country and didn’t know anybody.”

Ms Dlayiya, now of Weymouth, Dorset, denies most of the charges, which relate to professional standards. The hearing continues.