Woman’s relief after cruel nurse struck off

A WOMAN whose late mother was mistreated by an abusive nurse has spoken of her relief now that “justice has been done.”

Louise Mackay suffered months of anguish while her mother, Jean Binnie, was under the care of Margaret Hamilton at Wakefield House Care Home, Cullen, in 2004.

The Portknockie nurse, who was struck off the nursing register at a hearing in Elgin, was abusive towards Mrs Binnie, as well as other vulnerable people who were under her care.

Eight counts of mistreatment, including dragging, grabbing, mocking, and in one case poking at a woman’s chest after she had had a mastectomy, were proven at a recent hearing of the Nursing and Midwifery Council.

In another incident the 48-year-old nurse, of King Edward Terrace, confined an elderly resident, who was suffering anorexia and dementia, to the dinner table, refusing to allow her to leave until she had finished her meal.

Mrs Mackay wrote an official letter of complaint about her late mother’s allegations.

Mrs Binnie was growing increasingly anxious about the treatment herself and others were being subjected to under Mrs Hamilton’s care. Mrs Mackay said it angered her to know that someone was being cruel to frail, elderly people.

“My mother was very vulnerable, she was 87 and suffering arthritis and osteoporosis and a complicated auto-immune disorder.

“It was awful to see her so distressed when life was really hard on her anyway.”

Mrs Hamilton’s abuse came to an end in August 2005 when she was suspended from the care home.

Within a fortnight, the nurse was dismissed for gross professional misconduct.

Stephen Cowie, manager of Wakefield House Care Home, said he took action as quickly as it was physically and legally possible.

“It’s horrifying to think we had someone like that in our midst but I am proud of the way my staff and my matron dealt with it and am satisfied that we dealt with it as quickly as we could,” he said.

The hearing, which was held at Crerar Eight Acres Hotel, in Elgin, last month, ruled that Mrs Hamilton’s name should be removed from the nursing and midwifery register for at least five years.

In a separate measure she was given an 18-month interim suspension order. The sanction prevents Mrs Hamilton from practising during that period.

Mrs Hamilton refused to comment when approached by the Press and Journal.

The ruling followed an earlier hearing in February 2008 which failed to prove six charges brought against her and cleared her to return to nursing.

A spokesman at the Nursing and Midwifery Council said the second hearing was held under orders from the regulatory body, the Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence.