Nurse To Face Conduct Charges Following Elderly Deaths At Maypole
Elderly Abuse Allegations
11/02/2008
The nurse formerly in charge at Birmingham's notorious Maypole Nursing Home, where 27 residents died in just one year, is to face a Nursing & Midwifery Council (NMC) hearing.
Kathleen Smith, who was Nursing Manager at the home when it closed in 2003, faces a total of 22 allegations of professional misconduct. The hearing by the NMC's Conduct and Competence Committee into Ms Smith's fitness to practice commences on Monday 18th February and is scheduled to last for two weeks.
In January 2006 the two GPs who owned the Maypole Nursing Home, Dr Jamalapuram Hari Gopal and his wife, Dr Praturi Samrajya Lakshmi, were struck off the Medical Register on the basis of serious professional misconduct. The GMC's Fitness to Practice Panel found that in their roles as both co-proprietor and general practitioner of the nursing home, their actions were "inappropriate, irresponsible and inadequate" and were not in the best interests of the patients or the residents of the Maypole Nursing Home.
Concerns about the Maypole Nursing Home in Birmingham were first raised back in 2001 and health officials conducted 17 inspections of the home before it was finally closed in March 2003. In 2002 27 residents died and 16 of those deaths were identified as cause for serious concern.
Amongst those who died suddenly was 77-year-old Leslie Vines formerly of Cranmore Boulevard, Shirley. Despite suffering from both Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, Mr Vines was considered physically fit and well when he was transferred to the Maypole Nursing Home in Shirley for full time nursing care. Mr Vines spent just 10 days at the home before his unexpected death on 7th September 2002. At the time, the cause of his death was recorded as bronchial pneumonia although neither a post mortem nor an inquest was held.
Victoria Blankstone, a solicitor with the Birmingham office of national law firm Irwin Mitchell, is representing Mr Vines' family. She said: "A number of official reports have revealed the extremely poor standards of medical and nursing care at the Maypole. Whilst the two doctors who owned the home have already been appropriately dealt with, this is the first time that a senior member of nursing staff who was directly responsible for the day to day care of the residents, has faced disciplinary charges. The charges are extremely serious and call into question her competence to work as a nurse. If found guilty she could be suspended or struck off the nursing register."
Amongst the 22 breaches of professional conduct, Ms Smith faces charges that she:
- Allowed staff to use inappropriate methods of restraint upon residents
- Failed to ensure drugs were properly administered
- Failed to retain records of reports of deaths, accidents and reportable incidents
- Allowed drugs prescribed for specific named residents to be administered to other residents
Mr Vines' daughter, Mrs Hazell Bicknell, said: "Although it has been more than five years since my father's death, we continue to fight for justice for him and we won't rest until we know just what happened to him. I've never believed the home's explanation for my father's death. I know when he was transferred from Heartlands Hospital doctors described him as being 'as strong as a 21 year old' but within 48 hours of going into the Maypole he was reduced to a shuffling wreck.
"I believe that my father did not die from natural causes but as a result of neglect and the way he was treated at the Maypole."