A Fife nurse found to have made racist remarks about colleagues at a care home has been struck off.
Sandra Wilson was working at Lunardi Court Care Home in Cupar when she made the comments.
The Nursing and Midwifery Council launched an investigation and found 12 of 13 allegations against her to be proven.
A report on the NMC probe stated that on an unknown date Wilson said: “The quicker we get rid of these blacks and get our own people in, the better,” or words to that effect.
Fife nurse found to have made racist remarks
The watchdog also found Wilson called Indian colleagues “it” and “that thing”, made them sit in another room and said: “They should stay in their own country.”
She also refused to work with staff she perceived to be not white, according to the NMC’s findings.
During a hearing into Wilson’s conduct, one witness told the NMC panel: “She admitted to me that she hates coloured people and won’t work with them.
“She makes the Indian staff sit in a different room from her and calls them ‘it’ and ‘that thing.”
Another witness said: “On one occasion I was walking upstairs with her, and she said to me, ‘The quicker we get rid of these blacks and get our own people in, the better’.
“We had two Indian boys in, and they were absolutely lovely.”
Wilson denied to the panel that she had made the comments and claimed she had “no hostility” towards black or foreign people, and had previously worked in Africa without any problems.
But when contacted for comment by The Courier, Wilson admitted she “couldn’t communicate” and “didn’t understand” Indian workers that had been brought in to work at the home.
She added: “I put a report into management because if they can’t communicate with me, how are they meant to communicate with residents?”
Fife nurse dragged residents to bathrooms and swore
The NMC also found that in October 2020, Wilson told a resident to “shut up” on more than one occasion and grabbed their arms.
On another occasion, in February 2021, Wilson delayed calling an out-of-hours doctor after a large amount of blood was found in a resident’s urine and their temperature reached 40.6°C.
Wilson was also found to have dragged residents to bathrooms and swore in the presence of residents.
However, the NMC found there had been no complaints about Wilson prior to working at the care home and said no resident was harmed under her care.
Wilson quit her job at the care home in 2021, before an investigation into her behaviour was launched, but the NMC said she had held a desire to return to nursing with the NHS as she “loved and missed” the profession.
The report concluded: “Your actions were significant departures from the standards expected of a registered nurse and are fundamentally incompatible with your remaining on the register.
“Your actions were serious and to allow you to continue practising would undermine public confidence in the profession and in the NMC as a regulatory body.”
Struck-off Fife nurse responds to claims of racist remarks
Responding to the findings of the report, Wilson said she had not experienced a problem at any job before during her 35-year career, before working at Lunardi Court.
She told The Courier: “I was putting complaints to the management because they cut it down to two nurses at night and it was only me with 40 residents.
“They started to bring in agency carers from Edinburgh who were Indian and they couldn’t communicate – I didn’t understand them.
It’s just been a joke. I lost my husband just before it happened
“I put a report into management because if they can’t communicate with me, how are they meant to communicate with residents? It was unbelievable.
“I then reported the deputy manager because she was swearing at me for not doing an extra shift.
“I will admit I didn’t call the NHS for one patient but I observed them all through the night and they were fine.
“It’s just been a joke. I lost my husband just before it happened.
“It’s just not been right and that’s been over two-and-a-half years.”
A spokesperson for Four Seasons Health Care, which runs the Cupar care home said: “Following the initial allegations, Four Seasons suspended the employee pending investigation.
“The employee resigned following a disciplinary hearing.
“We will always take action to protect the care and wellbeing of our residents, which remain our first priority.”
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