AN AGED care nurse who failed to report a 93-year-old woman's fall, leaving her untreated for days with a broken hip and later lying about it, says he feels ashamed.
The woman's injury, which occurred on a Friday, was not identified and treated until the Monday morning at which point she required hospitalisation.
Care staff noticed she was experiencing pain, and that there were changes in her mobility, with her left leg shortened and rotated inwards.
A review of CCTV footage showed her lying on the floor of the corridor to the dementia ward in Australian Unity-owned nursing home at 11.52pm on Friday, October 29, 2022.
She was considered to have a high risk of falls due to her dementia diagnosis and her recent history of falls.
Calvin Dianco Morato, who trained as a nurse in the Phillippines and worked there and in New Zealand before coming to work in Australia, had worked at the facility since April, 2019.
On the night in question he felt unwell, he told the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT), and called an hour before his 9.30pm shift started to see if he could be replaced.
However, he did go to work and told NCAT he went because it was difficult for replacement staff to be allocated and he felt he was able to work his shift.
There were 120 residents in the facility, and 70 in the village with only one nurse on duty, he said during a hearing in April.
An internal investigation by Australian Unity found he failed to complete any relevant assessments of the resident immediately after her fall, failed to complete an incident report and failed to notify colleagues or managers of the fall.
When later asked by the clinical care manager whether he had witnessed or reported anything occurring during his shift, he said there had been no falls.
He was suspended with pay on November 3, 2022, while the investigation took place and was sacked shortly afterwards.
His nursing registration has been suspended since December, 2022, and he has since worked as a disability support worker.
Morato admitted that he failed in his duty of care to the resident, and that he felt shame for what he had done.
He admitted that he lied about it when first asked because he was afraid of disciplinary action.
He acknowledged that the resident's quality of life was more important than disciplinary action against him.
The tribunal found Morato's conduct fell significantly below the standards of conducted expected by a nurse with his training and experience, aggravated by the fact he knew the resident was vulnerable due to her age, cognitive diagnoses and assessment as being a falls risk.
He did not properly assess his wellness for duty on the night in question and exercised poor judgement in deciding he was able to work despite not feeling well, the tribunal said in a judgement handed down on September 13.
"This may be an indication of the chronic stress and exhaustion that may accompany the practice of nursing as is so often generally publicly reported," the judgement said.
"The fact that he called the agency to attempt to find a replacement nurse supports this proposition."
Morato was issued a repremind and his nurse's registration was reinstated but with conditions including that he must not be the nurse in charge of any shift, ward, or unit, have supervisory responsibilities for any other nurse, or work as the sole practitioner on any shift, ward, or unit.
