'Disgraceful' nurses struck off

Three women have been struck off the nursing register after being found guilty of "lamentable and disgraceful" treatment of patients at a Kent home.

Proprietor Nillam Sanjivi, 51, and nurses Brenda Broderick, 75, and Gloria Ellse, 53, watched a 92-year-old man develop scabies, sores and boils.

The Nursing and Midwifery Council was told of a catalogue of failings at the Heather Lodge Nursing Home, Folkestone.

All three were suspended from practising in November last year.

We have no doubt there was a lamentable and disgraceful failure by all three respondents Anne Kelly

The hearing was told that patients were left in pain and discomfort at the 18-bed home.

The 92-year-old diabetic man developed painful pressure sores and ulcers after moving into Heather Lodge in 1997.

He was allowed to balloon in weight from 15st to 19st in just over a year while the nurses failed to get advice about his diet.

Staff at another home were shocked by the condition of a 98-year-old patient with a debilitating skin complaint transferred from Heather Lodge, the panel heard.

A 93-year-old woman at the home endured pain in her left arm until doctors at a nearby hospital diagnosed a fracture.

'Lamentable, disgraceful'

A wheelchair-bound 73-year-old was dismissed as "attention seeking" after she repeatedly toppled over and hit her head.

Visiting medics raised concerns and an investigation was carried out resulting in a nine-volume report on blunders at the care home between May 1997 and September 1999.

Anne Kelly, who chairs the committee, said that, five years on, the panel had not seen enough evidence to show the women were fit to practice.

"We have no doubt there was a lamentable and disgraceful failure, by all three respondents, to ensure that regular monitoring, treatment and evaluation was provided for the 92-year-old man as regards his pain and skin integrity," she said.

She added that the boss, Sanjivi, of Deepfield Way, Coulsdon, Surrey, was particularly at fault.

She said that to allow the three to remain on the register would put a risk public trust and confidence in the nursing profession.

In a statement, Nillam Sanjivi said she was "shocked and disappointed" at the findings of the Nursing Midwifery Council and was considering the prospects of an appeal.