Ex-nurse resigns care home role
ANURSE who was struck off for having sex with a “vulnerable” mental health patient has resigned as manager of a Cardiff care home.
On September 5 a panel found it proved that former nurse Alec James Wallbank had sex with a patient sectioned under the Mental Health Act in 2014 while working for a Cardiff and Vale University Health Board hospital.
Mr Wallbank had appeared in court last year charged with having sex with the patient, which he denied. He was was cleared of all charges after a judge directed the jury to find him not guilty on two counts and prosecutors offered no evidence on the remaining four.
But a fitness to practice hearing of the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), which sat three times between July and September this year, found the allegations proven using the civil standard of proof, known as the “balance of probabilities”.
During the hearing Mr Wallbank also admitted to contacting the woman on Facebook using a different name and admitted treating her after she was readmitted to hospital.
As a result of the hearing, Mr Wallbank was suspended for an interim period of 18 months followed by a striking-off order if no appeal is made.
Before the hearing, Mr Wallbank had been working as manager of the Barclay Court Care Home in Cardiff. His name is listed as manager of the home under online directory carehome.co.uk – however his successor said he has since resigned.
His name is also included on an advert for a job at the care home on Cathedral Road, Pontcanna .
The job advert, listed on Indeed, reads: “Barclay Court are looking for an enthusiastic care assistant to join our tem [sic] on days. For an informal chat or information regarding the role contact Alec Wallbank.”
The care home is registered to provide accommodation and personal care to 39 adults aged 60 and above, who may also have dementia care needs. The home, converted from three Victorian properties, has 33 single rooms and three double rooms over three floors.
Of the 39 residents, nine may have functional mental health needs.
On Tuesday, the care home’s current manager Gail Forbes confirmed Mr Wallbank had resigned but declined to say when.
In November 2017 a Care Inspectorate Wales report found the home to be managed by an interim manager. The report states: “The acting manager currently remains unable to register with the professional body to enable him to become the registered manager as he has not obtained the required qualifications.
“He informed us that this qualification should be obtained very shortly and an application to become a registered manager would be made.”
The acting manager is not named. In Care Inspectorate Wales’ most recent report, however, it confirms a “suitable person” has since been found and is undergoing training.
The report, published on August 28, states: “This regulation is now met as a suitable person has been employed and is undergoing appropriate training with plans to register with Social Care Wales.”
In a statement, Mr Wallbank told us: “The allegations against myself were examined in considerable detail in a crown court hearing and I was found not guilty on all charges.
“Whilst I recognise the important role that the NMC take in maintaining professional standards in nursing, I find it difficult to understand how at a limited hearing of lay members they have come to such a different conclusion.”
He added: “I am still considering an appeal against the NMC findings regarding sexual allegations as I maintain my innocence. However I have resigned my position at Barclay Court to enable them to continue to offer the excellent service they provide, free from the publicity these allegations have generated.”