Care home boss faces new probe
A former manager at an Ayrshire nursing home, where eight patients died of coronavirus, is at the centre of an investigation by the industry watchdog.
Registered nurse Anne Gibson was a boss at Rozelle Holm Farm care home when it was savaged by the Care Inspectorate for numerous failings in the way they tackled an outbreak of the killer virus.
Now the nursing watchdog is looking into potential wrongdoing by Gibson.
The Ayrshire Post can reveal that she has been made subject to an 18-month interim Conditions of Practice Order by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC)– until they carry out a full investigation.
The watchdog imposed their interim order during a Nursing and Midwifery Council Investigating Committee meeting but they have not disclosed the specific allegations against Gibson.
In December, The Post told how inspectors slammed “serious failings” at Rozelle, where a third of residents lost their lives within the space of a month.
And standards within the Alloway home were also savaged by Care Inspectorate Scotland, who said people’s health and wellbeing were at “serious risk.”
It followed a spot check at the height of the home’s Covid outbreak last year.
Findings from the visit included workers in “contaminated PPE” and residents “at risk of malnourishment and dehydration.”
Inspectors found staff were “unclear of the Covid-19 status of residents and the isolation requirements.”
Their visit also found that residents’ “food and fluid intake was not closely monitored.”
The home was ordered to make immediate improvements ahead of a follow-up visit.
Other criticisms included staff carrying out their duties with no face coverings, staff walking through the home with “contaminated PPE,” “unsatisfactory” hand-washing facilities, staff ignoring hygiene guidelines while “seen to be wearing jewellery and nail polish.”
The report also raised doubts over medication to residents with “records not always completed.”
As a result of the inspection, the care home was graded at the lowest end of their six-point scale.
In addition, inspectors said the care home lacked a “visible presence of management” and had a “lack of effective leadership and accountability.”
Nineteen residents and 13 staff tested positive for Covid at the height of the outbreak, with eight patients dying.
At the time care home owner Forbes Robertson admitted the report “did not look good” but vowed that a major shake-up was underway.
This week Mr Robertson confirmed that Gibson no longer works at Rozelle and declined to comment on the NMC case.
Meanwhile, it’s also been revealed that a special Crown Office unit, established last year to investigate Covid-related deaths, is probing cases at nearly 500 care homes around Scotland.
The NMC said: “The NMC Case Examiners are yet to decide whether there is a case to answer in relation to the allegations made (against Gibson).”
In the meantime, the NMC said Gibson “must not work in any managerial capacity,” or as the nurse “in charge.”
They also deemed that Gibson must ensure she is “supervised by another registered nurse” any time she is working and among other conditions she must create a personal development plan (PDP) in relation to “record keeping,” “health and safety”, “infection prevention and control”, “pressure management and care,” and “medication management and administration.”