Care home worker bullied old ladies

McKechnie struck off for “aggressive” behaviour.

A callous care home worker has been axed for hurling abuse at frail pensioners and forcing pills into an old woman’s mouth.

Alexander McKechnie was found guilty of eight offences carried out against five elderly women and a female colleague over a period of more than a year.Support our Care Home campaignThe “abrupt and aggressive” carer was said to have risked injuring the elderly women or putting them in a state of “anxiety, alarm or fear”.

McKechnie carried out the offences while working as a senior carer at Nazareth House in Bonnyrigg between November 2005 and July 2012.

The home, which is owned by the Sisters of Nazareth Charitable Trust, cares for frail old people, including dementia sufferers.

His conduct was said to have “directly harmed” residents and was described by the Scottish Social Services Council as “extremely serious”.

The watchdog struck him off after deciding that suspending him would not protect members of the public.

They said there was no evidence he regretted his actions which were said to be part of “a pattern of behaviour displayed over a significant period of time”.

He was also said to have made no comment on the allegations despite admitting the charges.

The SSSC said that on one occasion in May 2012 McKechnie put his hand in front of an elderly resident’s face as he shouted at her.

In June of that year he pulled another elderly female resident out of a chair without warning.

He then pulled her through to another room, causing her to become distressed.

On another occasion he scared an elderly woman with visual impairment by walking up behind her before shouting and putting his hands on her shoulders without warning. He also shouted at and grabbed a female resident and took her out of a dining room at the home despite the fact she tried to resist.

Another old woman was also subjected to McKechnie’s aggressive conduct when he grabbed her and shouted at her as she struggled to break free.

He was said to have raised his voice on several occasions when one of the women asked him about getting her medication.

At the start of last year he was said to have forced pills on a dessert spoon into the mouth of the same woman.

In June 2011 he shouted and swore at a female colleague when she asked him which residents needed their medication during a day trip.

Last night campaigners condemned McKechnie’s actions.

John Swinburne, leader of The All Scotland Pensioner Party, said: “It’s despicable behaviour that should never be tolerated. He should never have got the job in the first place.

“There must be something wrong with the care home’s recruitment process because this guy sounds like the original square peg in a round hole.”

Robert York, CEO of Nazareth Care Charitable Trust, said McKechnie underwent all required checks before he was employed and there was no reason to suspect he was not suitable to care for vulnerable people.

He also said complaints had been made about McKechnie over a “relatively short period of time” and that the carer had resigned before any disciplinary hearing could be concluded.

McKechnie made no comment when approached.

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