Medication mistake sees care home worker warned

A ST ANDREWS care home worker has been given an official warning after leaving a resident without pain relief for 12 hours.

Elizabeth Santos, who was acting deputy manager at the Bupa-run Balnacarron Care Home at the time, was found to have committed misconduct by the Scottish Social Services Council.

However, the council said Ms Santos had since been praised for “exemplary” work and there was no real risk of the mistake being repeated.

The council’s recently published report detailed how she failed to give a service user two Zomorph tablets and signed documentation to record the morphine drug had, in fact, been administered.

In doing so, she breached Bupa’s policies for administration of medication.

“Social service workers, in whom service users, their carers and the public place their trust and confidence, are required to operate within frameworks of individual and organisational responsibility, accountability and practice governance, in order to ensure that the practice of social service workers is, and continues to be, competent, lawful, effective and safe,” the report stated.

“By her behaviour, she failed to work cooperatively and to follow her employer’s procedures for the safe administration of medication, therefore placing the service user at risk of harm.”

Ms Santos was issued with a warning, which will stay on her registration for three years.

The council listed 11 factors in her favour. These included previous good history and the fact she accepted responsibility for the error.

The council stated: “In relation to her failure to administer, she states that she was a senior down and that the day had been particularly busy with visits and unwell residents.

“These statements are backed up by her manager. Both her and her manager indicate that a lack of managerial control and guidance may have had a part to play.

“A clinical practice teacher also confirms that her work on a recent course was ‘of an exemplary standard and observed practice was exemplary’.”

A spokeswoman for the home said: “As soon as we identified this mistake we reported it to the Scottish Social Services Council and disciplined the individual.

“As an extra precaution we have carried out further medication training for staff in the home.”

Picture: George McLuskie. At Upper Anstruther Town Hall, Cunzie Street, yesterday are members of the Dorothy Dobson exercise class for over 60s, who raised £400 to help fight Multiple System Atrophy (MSA) and Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP). Back, from left: Elizabeth...