Care home nurse ‘knew patient was dead but told family he didn’t look very well’

TWO nurses at a Scottish care home are to face allegations of dishonesty about the death of one of their patients.

One of the nurses is accused of telling the daughter of the patient that her father was “not looking very well” when she knew or believed that the patient was already dead.

Faye Wilson, a charge nurse, and Ma Jenny Quinto, a staff nurse, have been accused of separate allegations of misconduct and are due to appear before the conduct and competence committee of the Nursing and Midwifery Council in Edinburgh on 9 January.

Both were employed at the Beach Court Care Home in Constitution Street, Aberdeen, operated by Four Seasons Health Care.

Charges that Wilson faces allege that on 17 May, 2009, she failed to adequately assess or take appropriate action after seeing a male patient – known only as Patient A – in the dining room, after circumstances during the previous 48 hours had indicated he was too unwell to be taken from his bed.

On the same day she is also alleged to have failed to provide Patient A’s daughter with a true account of his condition, telling her that he was “not looking very well” when she knew or believed that the man had, in fact, died.

She is also alleged to have failed to keep an accurate record of the patient’s death, writing in his records that he had died in bed, which she knew or believed to be inaccurate. Her conduct, it is claimed, was dishonest.

Wilson is also accused of failing to act professionally, following Patient A’s death, by arguing with Quinto in front of residents and other colleagues at the home.

Quinto is accused of failing to adequately assess Patient A’s condition before taking him to the dining room, knowing that he was too unwell to be taken from his bed, of failing to ensure that the record made of where Patient A had died was accurate and also of failing to act professionally, following Patient A’s death, by arguing with Wilson in front of others.

The Beach Court Care Home specialises in care for the frail elderly and people suffering from dementia, and normally has 43 residents.

A spokeswoman for Four Seasons Health Care said the company was not prepared to make any comment ahead of the hearing.

An inspection report on the care home, published earlier this year by Social Care and Social Work Improvement Scotland, concluded that the quality of care and support, quality of environment, quality of staffing and quality of management and leadership at Beachwood Court were all considered “weak”.

The report stated: “Staff told us that they struggled to cope sometimes because residents’ dependency levels had increased: the residents required more physical care, as well as higher levels of support to meet their mental health needs.”