A care worker was found sleeping on two chairs in a staff kitchen at a nursing home while the daughter of a patient was frantically looking for a staff member, a tribunal has heard. The daughter of the patient stated that it was difficult to awaken the care worker in question during her night duty and she found another staff member who promptly got the nurse on duty without delay. The sleeping carer was one of two carers and one nurse tasked with looking after 23 patients during the night duty. The nursing home received a complaint over the care-worker being found asleep on the job. The care assistant had been employed by the nursing home for nine years until her dismissal on June 2nd 2017 arising from the ‘sleep’ incident on May 9th 2017. The care assistant sued for unfair dismissal and a Tribunal has found that the worker was not unfairly dismissed.
November 26, 2018
A DUP councillor will be sentenced in four weeks after being found guilty of sexually assaulting a fellow nurse at a care home in Co Antrim. Belfast Magistrates’ Court heard Ian Stevenson (49), of Headlands Avenue, Ballymoney, asked the woman for a hug and then deliberately squeezed her breast before joking that he would “grope anything”. He denied the allegation. The woman said she reacted by pushing away Stevenson, who sits on Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council, and told him “no”. “He just basically tried to laugh it off and made the joke,” the woman said. “It makes me nervous that somebody in that position could take such an advantage.” Defence counsel said it was unbelievable that Stevenson, a public figure and nurse of 22 years standing, do such a thing in the middle of a care home. Stevenson claimed the woman offered him a hug after he said he was going to lay a wreath on a friend’s grave, and that he at no point touched her breast. District Judge Amanda Henderson said she found the injured party’s testimony in the case against to be consistent and credible. She said Stevenson had failed to provide an explanation for why the woman would fabricate the incident after they had previously been on good terms. The court heard Stevenson has since been dismissed from his nursing position and is challenging the decision at a tribunal.
November 15, 2018
Property developer and investor Kajima has strengthened its operations in Ireland with the addition of Nigel Skinner as Project Director.
September 25, 2018
Mainstay Medical International plc, a medical device company focused on commercializing ReActiv8®, an implantable restorative neurostimulation system designed to treat an underlying cause of disabling Chronic Low Back Pain, today announces that Dr Manus Rogan has decided to step down as a Non-Executive Director of the Company with immediate effect.
August 21, 2018
Mainstay Medical has appointed Matthew Onaitis as Chief Financial Officer.
July 4, 2018
A paramedic has been booted out of the profession for conning a female boxer into exposing her breasts during a pre-fight check. Paul Hardy, a former Northern Ireland Ambulance Service paramedic, asked the victim to remove her bra under the guise of carrying out “baseline observations” on April 16, 2016. A Health and Care Professionals Council tribunal hearing was told that despite the “obvious” discomfort of the woman – a health professional herself – Hardy had her expose her breasts for 30 to 45 seconds while carrying out a rib flex test. The “nervous” female boxer did not object to the bizarre examination and behaviour because she was keen to take part in the charity event and was under the impression the assessment was a requirement to do so. In attempting to justify his actions, Hardy told the tribunal he was assessing the woman for “chest asymmetry” and was being thorough in his examination because he wanted to improve safety in the “dangerous and unregulated” sport of charity boxing.
May 28, 2018
A 95-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after his female carer died when she suffered head injuries. It is thought that her injuries were sustained at a residential address where she was working as a carer. The 95-year-old has been taken to hospital as a precaution due to a pre-existing condition where he will remain pending transfer to a location where his complex health and care needs can be managed. Reports have emerged that he was suffering from dementia. Police have bailed him while enquiries continue.
April 27, 2018
A 77-year-old man has died in hospital after being struck repeatedly by a fellow resident in a dementia residential home. The suspect, whose initials are P.S., is currently being kept in custody that can last up to 30 days. The victim, Z.K., died from a brain hemorrhage. P.S. assaulted Z.K. after an altercation over a TV remote control, “as they were unable to agree on which program to watch.”
