News

More nurses removed from the register after police investigation

Nursing and Midwifery Council acts following £11 million police investigation into neglect at care homes in Gwent

A further three nurses have been removed from the nursing register as part of the £11.6 million Operation Jasmine police investigation into neglect and abuse at care homes in Gwent, bringing the final total to six.

The three – former acting manager Daphne Richards, and mental health nurses Tembakazi Moyana and Rachel Tanta – all worked at the Brithdir Nursing Home for people with mental health problems and learning disabilities, run by Puretruce Healthcare. The nurses’ actions covered 2003-2005.

Ms Moyana’s deficiencies contributed to the deaths of five residents, while Ms Tanta’s contributed to one, a Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) panel said.

The NMC had proved 28 charges against Ms Moyana at a previous hearing involving neglect of patients with pressure ulcers, while Ms Richards had been found guilty of 14 charges relating to similar actions and failure to put in place care plans. The NMC had proved 18 charges against Ms Tanta, which included neglecting to reposition patients.

Another mental health nurse, Susan Greening, received a caution to remain on record for four years, while a further mental health nurse, Beverley Mock, has been suspended from nursing for a year.

The NMC made the rulings at a hearing in Cardiff on Friday (August 28).

An NMC judgement paper on the cases states: ‘Ms Moyana’s deficiencies were not limited to negligent acts and omissions; they involved a wide-ranging and persistent pattern of neglect of six residents, which revealed a profoundly disturbing attitude of indifference to the unnecessary suffering resulting from her neglect.’

The paper also states that Ms Richards’ neglect persisted over ‘a substantial period’ and caused ‘serious harm’ to three residents. Ms Tanta ‘deliberately misled’ care home inspectors on one visit by telling them that there were no patients with pressure sores, the NMC said.

Brithdir Nursing Home was closed after the police investigation started and has since reopened under new management.

Former Brithdir nursing director Christine Hayes was struck off in January, while last October the NMC struck off nurses Susan Reynolds and Heather Hayward from Grosvenor nursing home in Abertillery.