A NURSE responsible for running a care home was seen sleeping with her feet up while on duty, a professional standards hearing has heard.

Caroline Diana Cook was working at Sowerby House Nursing Home near Thirsk, when she was seen sitting in a darkened room, covered with a blanket.

At the time she was deemed to be the nurse in charge at the home which cares for about 35 patients, some of whom had dementia.

A hearing by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) found she had slept on duty and this amounted to serious misconduct.

She had denied sleeping while on duty on night shifts but the panel found that she had on at least one occasion.

The report said: “The panel considered that by falling asleep, even on one shift, you did fall significantly below the standards expected of a registered nurse. There is uncertainty whether you were in charge of all the residents in the Home.

“As the nurse in charge, the panel determined that you had overall responsibility for care given within the Home. It was of the view that you should not have put yourself in the position leading to you being likely to fall asleep whilst on duty. By being asleep whilst on duty you put residents at risk of harm and you would not have been in a position to assist colleagues. By your own admission, some nursing residents had complex needs and by being asleep you would not have been in a position to react to these needs.”

The recent NMC hearing relating to incidents in 2014 and 2015 also heard Ms Cook faced another charge of shouting at colleagues in front of a resident. This was proved but did not amount to serious misconduct. Ms Cook was found to have failed to record personal care interventions for two residents and washed two residents but not others, which did not amount to serious misconduct.

Ms Cook was also accused of leaving a medication trolley unlocked and unattended, leaving medication in pots in the rooms of residents whilst they slept, and requesting care assistants give residents medication when they were not trained to do so - charges that were found not proved by the panel.

The panel heard that Ms Cook has not worked as a nurse since her dismissal from the home and did not intend to in the future because of health concerns.

Having found that her fitness to practice is currently impaired, it took into consideration that she had practised since 1980 without concern and had told her employer that she was experiencing health problems that may have an impact on her work.

Ms Cook was given a caution order for one year, during which time prospective employers would be on notice that her fitness to practise had been found to be impaired.

At the end of this period the note on her entry in the register will be removed but the NMC will keep a record of the panel’s finding that her fitness to practise had been found impaired, which would be available to practice committees in the future, should further allegations be made.

A spokesman for Larchwood Care which runs the home said: “This hearing relates to matters raised more than two years ago when the home was under different ownership. The home is undergoing a complete transformation, with the support and involvement of residents, families and staff and feedback from them, and external stakeholders, is very positive.”

At the time of the incidents, the home was run by Orchard Care Homes.

The NMC hearing is one of a series of investigations into Sowerby House Care Home in Sowerby, near Thirsk.

In February 2015, the home was rocked when resident David Paterson was murdered by local woman Heather Davidson, who had been a regular visitor of Mr Paterson.

Davidson was sentenced to life in prison at Teesside Crown Court in June 2015.

This week, a two-day inquest is to look into the deaths of three residents of the home which has since been placed in special measures by a care inspection body.

Albert Pooley, James Metcalfe and Harry Kilvington all died in 2016 at Sowerby House care home prompting a joint investigation by North Yorkshire Police and the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

The two-day inquest, on April 5 and 6 in Northallerton, will hear the outcome of the investigations, although police have confirmed it has been completed with no criminal charges.