Care home matron struck off after misconduct allegations (From Western Telegraph)

Care home matron struck off after misconduct allegations

11:00am Sunday 17th March 2013 in News

The former matron of a care home near Milford Haven has been struck off the nursing register following a tribunal examining eight allegations of misconduct.

A Nursing and Midwifery Council hearing in Cardiff on February 18th heard that Pamela Joy Passmore, of Neyland, who was matron at Rickeston Mill Care Home between July 2008 and October 2009, headbutted a door twice in anger after an argument with an elderly woman in one incident.

In August 2009 Mrs Passmore got in an argument with one resident who had refused to share her cockles with another resident. The hearing was told Mrs Passmore lost her temper and banged her head against the door twice in front of residents and staff.

Other allegations of misconduct upheld by the tribunal include using unnecessary force to remove a resident’s hand from the front door causing a skin tear on their hand and not arranging a speech and language therapy (SALT) reassessment requested by a family member.

In a separate incident the hearing found that Mrs Passmore had been involved in another argument with a resident and dragged the reclining chair they were sat in from the lounge to the dining room.

The hearing was told that Mrs Passmore had a number of previous difficulties with the resident and accepted she had not employed best practice but there had been no risk of harm to the patient.

A third incident involving an argument with a resident was also proved.

The hearing was told that in Spring 2009 Mrs Passmore was asked to arrange a second SALT reassessment to see if the patient could be allowed to eat a soft food diet because they were concerned she was losing weight and conditioning deteriorating on a liquid diet.

Mrs Passmore was said to have told the family member the reassessment had been carried out but she did not have a copy of the report to give to her, as it had not been received.

But when the family member rang the SALT team they had no record of a reassessment taking place or a referral from the home.

MrPassmore, who did not attend the hearing due to ill health, said that there must have been some confusion about her saying a referral had taken place, not a reassessment. This was found not to be the case and a charge of acting dishonestly was proved.

On considering whether Mrs Passmore behaved dishonestly the panel had regard to the seriousness of the charge and took account of her good character. “She has no record of behaving dishonestly prior to these allegations or since,” states the report.

Allegations relating to two other charges were not upheld.

The panel determined that Mrs Passmore’s fitness to practice was impaired for reason of misconduct.

In deciding what sanction to impose it “took account of Mrs Passmore’s previously unblemished nursing career”

and concluded that a “striking off order is the only sanction which is proportionate, appropriate and sufficient in the circumstances of this case”.

Mrs Passmore has 28 days to appeal the decision. The Nurse and Midwifery Council have no record of an appeal being lodged.

Mr Grayham Passmore told the Western Telegraph his wife had been unable to defend herself at the hearing because of the seriousness of her illness and “everything was taken as gospel”. They declined to comment further.