Bogus nurses: a care home conundrum

If fighting against perceived poor standards and public perception weren’t enough, care home managers now have to contend with fake nurses.

This goes far beyond poorly qualified staff and involves people pretending to be registered nurses to work in a care home.

The story of 49-year-old Carol Dabbs is one that should alarm every care home manager – and the families of anybody who lives in a care home.

Dabbs is alleged to have lied about being a nurse, and worked at a couple of care homes in Wales between 1992 and 2006. She was allowed to administer drugs and care for vulnerable frail people with no qualifications or training.

She now faces criminal charges of deception, supplying class A and class C drugs and wounding. A helpline has been set up for people who may have been treated by her.

At Bettercaring we hear of numerous cases of people unqualified to do the job, but few are as serious as this.

That Dabbs got away with it for almost 15 years is frightening and astonishing, and part of the blame must lie at the doors of Neath Port Talbot Social Services and the two care homes in question for not vetting the staff appropriately. Even the Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales (CSSIW) should face an inquiry for such an enormous lapse.

But it begs the question – how easy is it for someone to get a job in a care home without the right qualifications?

I recently spoke to Diane Smith, the manager at Cantelowes House in Barnet, and was impressed with the standards of recruitment in the home. She refuses to use agency staff and ensures there is a paper trail associated with every member of staff.

New members of staff don’t start work until all of the checks have been carried out, and this paper trail makes it impossible to falsify records – training and experience. It’s an almost foolproof system.

Diane admits it’s a long process, but it means there are no false nurses on the books – and she can sleep easy when CSCI come to visit.