A NURSE who threatened to kill a frail man and humiliated an incontinent pensioner at a residential home in Wooburn Green has been struck off the nursing register.
Angela Amsterdam, 63, was officially sacked by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) after battling to save her status for more than a year.
Amsterdam, from Slough, was working at the Brook House Nursing Home, The Green, at the time of alleged misconduct between late 2003 and early 2004.
She was responsible for a string of offensive incidents where vulnerable people, who she was supposed to be caring for, were verbally abused.
Patricia Frost, chairman of the panel, said: "Over many months you seriously departed from the standards expected of a registered nurse in your dealings with vulnerable patients, who had a right to be treated safely and with respect and dignity.
"The committee is concerned that even now you have not demonstrated any comprehension of the standards required of a registered nurse."
Amsterdam was caught screaming at elderly people and refused to help another nurse give oxygen to a sick resident because she was busy having a cup of tea, the committee heard.
She also humiliated an elderly gentleman, known as Resident A, after he wet himself in the living room of the home.
Chris Alder, for the NMC, said: "He decided to take the situation into his own hands and went to tidy himself up and get changed.
"As he was leaving the lounge the respondent walked past him, noticed his wet trousers and ridiculed him, saying Oh look, he has just wet himself. What a silly little man'."
A "horrified colleague" then had to try to calm the man down after he became deeply distressed by the comments. In another incident the catering manager was left locked out of the building when she arrived for her morning shift because Amsterdam had fallen asleep in the office.
Mr Alder said: "Not only was she asleep in the office but the telephone had been left off the hook.
"This is a very serious matter given she was the sole nurse in charge at the home."
Amsterdam said: "I think I am a caring nurse.
"I realise this is a serious matter. I hold the nursing profession in high esteem. I go to church and we are encouraged to be caring. I am not an aggressive person. I'm helpful.
"I have always wanted to be a nurse. It was my lifetime's ambition. I want to see people's lives improve."
Sharon Pither, nursing manager of Brook House Nursing Home, said after the hearing: "That was a different time and different ownership.
"The staff here now have all the training and are much more aware of all the regulations."
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