A nurse at a care home has been struck off the register after putting residents ‘at risk of serious harm’.

Olukanie Kokumo was working at Bymead Nursing Home, in Charmouth, when he left an elderly resident alone in the bathroom after they had a serious fall during the nightshift of February 17-18, 2021.

A Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) Fitness to Practise Committee considered 31 individual charges of misconduct against Mr Kokumo at a disciplinary hearing. The panel found all but five of the charges to be proved.

The panel heard how he had left an elderly resident alone in a bathroom at the home for a period of ’20 to 35 minutes’ and failed to ring 999. The resident sustained serious injuries during the fall.

It was also heard that he failed to carry out the required observations and falsified records to suggest he acted in ways that he hadn’t.

The NMC received a referral on May 12, 2021, from Bymead House expressing concerns over Mr Kokumo – relating to the incident and subsequent dishonest in submitting a falsified employment reference.

The panel said Mr Kokumo appeared to show a “wilful disregard of nursing protocols” and his actions would be considered “deplorable by fellow practitioners and the public”.

The panel concluded: “The panel finds that residents were put at risk of serious harm as a result of Mr Kokumo’s misconduct. Mr Kokumo’s misconduct breached fundamental tenets of the nursing profession and brought its reputation into disrepute.

“The panel has concluded that nothing short of striking Mr Kokumo from the register would be sufficient in this case to declare and uphold standards, and to maintain the reputation of the profession and of the NMC as its regulator.”

A spokesperson for Bymead House said: "Mr Kokumo failed in his duty – firstly, not meeting the standards of care we require by not following our protocols and subsequently falsifying records about an incident.

"We have zero tolerance for dishonesty. We informed both CQC and Safeguarding immediately and would like to thank them for their support.

"The residents are central to everything we do, which is why we act swiftly and decisively if we feel resident’s safety and wellbeing is compromised. For this reason, we made the decision to report our findings to the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC).

"We provided the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) with the results of our forensic investigation.

"As a result of the evidence we provided to the NMC, the case was proved and the nurse was struck off the NMC register.

"Bymead House continues to maintain high standards of quality care."

An interim suspension of 18 months is in place to allow for any potential appeal period.