Five nurses at South Wales care home found guilty of misconduct by NMC (10 August 2015)

The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) has said that patients at the centre of the UK's biggest inquiry into alleged neglect, died as a result of poor care in a care home in South Wales.

BBC News reports that the NMC concluded that the failings of five nurses at Brithdir Care Home near Bargoed amounted to misconduct. The nurses –
Tembakazi Moyana, Rachel Tanta, Daphne Richards, Susan Greening and Beverley Mock – might now face sanctions.

The failings were investigated by Operation Jasmine – an investigation by Gwent Police into allegations of neglect in South Wales care homes.

Last year, an NMC panel found seven misconduct charges proved against the director of nursing at the Caerphilly Local Health Board – Christine Hayes – between 2003 and 2006.
In May this year, a disciplinary panel found 86 failings proved out of an alleged 150 failings against six nurses, relating to nine residents at Brithdir Care Home between 2004 and 2006.

On Friday (07/08/15), the NMC disciplinary panel told a hearing in Cardiff that failings involving one other nurse – Rachel Pritchard – did not amount to misconduct, however.
The inquiry investigated allegations of poor management of patients' pressure sores, poor record keeping at the home – and other examples of care, which was potentially “deficient”.

The inquiry found that in one case, a resident was admitted to hospital with 16 pressure sores – which was described as “astounding” by one expert.

The NMC panel found that, in the case of Ms Moyana, she had “fundamentally breached” the relationship between nurse and patient, with deficiencies in care being directly responsible for causing the deaths of two patients.

During the hearing, the NMC panel referred to her “underlying callous, deep-seated attitude”.

Many of the patients at the care home were elderly and vulnerable.

The panel found that Ms Tanta had shown “a lack of concern for patients” –and a lack of respect for human dignity, with a “couldn't-care-less attitude”.

The panel heard that Ms Richards had failed to arrange a referral with a GP until she was pressured to do so by an inspector. The panel said her actions had caused pressure sores on one patient.

The panel also found Ms Greening – who had been promoted to manager for four months – had “put patients at risk” by failing to train staff properly.

Ms Mock had exposed patients to an unwarranted risk of harm, the panel concluded.

A further hearing on 17 August will decide on any sanctions to be imposed on the five nurses.

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