Panel to rule on allegationsagainst care worker

Violet Ruto will face a Nursing and Midwifery Council disciplinary panel on March 24 to face charges relating to incidents alleged to have taken place during her time at nursing homes in Crawley and Horsham.

A report due to go before the panel stated that, while working as a bank nurse at Ashton Grange Nursing Home, Horsham, on or around December 1 2010, she was alleged to have come to work ‘under the influence of alcohol’.

The panel will also look into incidents that are alleged to have occurred while she was on duty at Oakhurst Grange, Goffs Park Road in Crawley on December 29 2010.

It is alleged Ruto was unstable on her feet, appeared disorientated and asked a resident if they were holding a baby when in fact it was a teddy bear. The report added that, on New Year’s Eve 2010, she was seen by others to be unstable on her feet and was later found asleep in one of the rooms.

On December 28, while at Oakhurst Grange, she was unable to put on a plastic apron correctly, it was alleged.

The panel will decide whether Ruto’s fitness to practise was impaired by reason of misconduct.

Oakhurst Grange, which cared for people with dementia, was closed in June 2013 after being given two warning notices to make urgent improvements by the Care Quality Commission.

Ashton Grange in Horsham provides full-time care for elderly residents who have dementia and require nursing care.

The 31 bed home also provides end of life palliative care for residents.