CHINGORIWO: CARE HOME NURSE WAITED EIGHT HOURS TO REPORT ALLEGED ABUSE
A care home nurse failed to confront a care assistant when she caught him shaking a dementia patient, a hearing was told today (Mon).
Kemme Chingoriwo (CORR), 39, waited more than eight hours before raising the alarm with bosses at the Cholwell House Nursing Home in Temple Cloud, Somerset, it was said.
She offered no explanation for the delay and showed ‘no emotion or concern’ for the victim, the Nursing and Midwifery Council heard.
Chingoriwo is also accused of failing to give diabetes medication, sleeping tablets and anti-psychotic drugs to three residents, despite recording they had been given as normal in medical records.
She also slept on duty, failed to update care plans and took unauthorised absences, it is alleged.
Chingoriwo was working a night shift on February 28, 2009, when she witnessed a healthcare assistant abusing a patient, referred to only as Patient D, at around 11.35pm, the panel was told.
But, giving evidence, home manager Fiona Curie said she had not been alerted until a new shift came on duty at 8am the following morning.
‘In a statement, she said that she followed the healthcare assistant into Resident D’s room,’ said Mrs Curie.
‘He had told her that Resident D was unsettled.
‘When she entered the room, she said she could see him holding the resident’s cheek muscle and shaking her head.
‘But she stated that for some reason she did not confront the healthcare assistant.’
She continued: ‘She later said she had issues with the healthcare assistant and did not want to have any further problems.
‘However, she did not elaborate on this.
‘She didn’t show any emotion or concern for the alleged victim.
‘I felt she appeared relaxed and unaware of the potentially grave nature of the incident.’
The police of the home was incidents should be reported immediately so that no further residents were put at risk, she added.
Resident D did not suffer any significant injury and no action was taken against the care assistant.
At the time of the alleged incident, Chingoriwo was already on a written warning for failing to give prescribed drugs to three patients, the panel was told.
Nurse Julie Tovey said she had come on duty on February 7 and had noticed extra tablets in the residents’ medication boxes.
‘I went to check the medication sheets for these residents and noticed the nurse who had signed was Miss Chingoriwo,’ she said in evidence.
‘By initialing the sheet she was confirmed she had been on duty and that the residents had taken their medication for that shift.
‘However, the tablets for her shift were still in the box.’
If residents had refused their medication it should be recorded as such on their records, the panel was told.
Chingoriwo is not attending a misconduct hearing in central London.
She denies working shifts at another home, not updating care plans, sleeping while on duty and signing a controlled drug book without a witness present.
She also denies taking unauthorised absences, signing records to say she had given drugs when she had not and failing to report allegations of abuse against Resident D.
If found guilty of misconduct, she could be struck off the nursing register.
ends
