A recent hearing from the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) found that the manager had put a patient at risk of harm as a result of her misconduct.
Uju Delia Emekekwue was the registered manager for Medoc Healthcare Limited, a care home on Birkdale Road in Abbey Wood for adults with mental health needs.
The home was referred to the NMC after investigations from the Greenwich Clinical Commissioning Group and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) highlighted concerns on the safety of the home while a single resident was being cared for there.
A Greenwich Council officer claimed there was no care plan in place to the resident’s eating or hygiene when they visited.
The care plan for the home’s resident was reportedly not easily accessible as there was no physical copy due to it being stored solely on a digital drive.
There was also a lack of sufficient records on the care given to the resident or for staff meetings. The officer added that the resident was also unable to independently access their en suite shower room.
The report said: “[The officer] submitted that Resident A had limited ability to exit the building as there were no ramps, even though you had stated that there were plans for ramps to be installed. She submitted that Resident A had not been able to have a wash for the six months that he had lived at the home residence.”
Ms Emekekwue claimed in response that she only became aware the home’s washroom facilities were not appropriate when the resident had been accepted into the home.
She said he did not wish to use the shower as he did not like water to touch his body.
The resident was found not to have been able to access the community or independently use the garden as there were not appropriately wide doorways or ramps available for their wheelchair.
The manager also failed to follow up a referral for the patient to use a wheelchair until eight months after the initial assessment.
Ms Emekekwue admitted to having insufficient health and medication procedures as well as infection control and cleaning practices at the home.
A visit from Greenwich Council in May 2022 also found that several trip hazards were present in the property as well as no CO2 detector.
The panel was also not convinced that Ms Emekekwue had taken relevant food hygiene training.
It was found that inadequate fire safety procedures were in place, with only one fire drill having taken place at the home in eight months.
The manager reportedly applied for the property to be listed as a supported living service, but was told by a CQC inspector her property did not meet the criteria.
The inspector instead approved an application for the service to be accommodation with nursing and personal care. Ms Emekekwue reportedly did not fully understand this when she made the initial application.
The individual then incorrectly registered with Greenwich Council as a supported living service as she did not properly look at the certificate issued by the CQC. She then accepted a complex nursing placement in May 2022.
The panel claimed it was apparent that Ms Emekekwue genuinely believed she had been registered correctly as a supported living service.
Mrs Emekekwue reportedly said she fully understood the gravity of the situation and that she was very remorseful.
She assured the panel that her misconduct would never be repeated and she never had intention to hurt anyone.
However the NMC resolved that she failed to uphold the public’s trust and confidence in her as a nurse.
The report said: “The panel finds that a patient was put at risk of harm as a result of your misconduct.
“Your misconduct had breached the fundamental tenets of the nursing profession in that you had acted dishonestly and brought the reputation of the profession into disrepute.”
The panel decided to suspend Ms Emekekwue from the NMC register for three months without review, as she had provided a good amount of evidence into the steps she had taken to address the relevant concerns.
Medoc Healthcare Limited was approached, but declined the opportunity to comment.
