A nurse at an Ipswich care home accused of neglect, after allegedly failing to carry out medical checks on an elderly dementia patient who fell out of bed and was later found to have a fractured hip, has been cleared by a jury.

Before Ipswich Crown Court on Thursday (November 17) was Jayamal Kunjumon, 59, of Britannia Road, Ipswich, who had denied wilful neglect of a person in her care between May 7 and May 9, 2019.

It was alleged that Kunjumon, who worked at the Avocet Care home in Monmouth Close, Ipswich, told carers to put 79-year-old Josie Moore back in her bed after she was found on the floor and didn’t follow procedures that were in place for such an incident.

Emma Nash, prosecuting, said that medical checks should have been carried out on Mrs Moore as well as regular observations and ongoing monitoring as some injuries might not have been apparent at the time of the fall.

Miss Nash said that Kunjumon, who was the nurse in charge on that night shift allegedly told carers to put her back in her bed and said it wasn’t necessary to carry out any checks on her.

She claimed Kunjumon had shown “a complete disregard” for the obligation to check for fractures and injuries despite being well aware of what she should have done.

She said the following night Mrs Moore had appeared to be in pain when she was moved and it was noticed that her hip was swollen and her leg was rotated which can be a sign of a hip fracture.

Kunjumon called an ambulance and allegedly told a carer to lie about what had happened and to say she had fallen out of bed that night and not the previous night.

In character references read to the jury, people who have worked with Kunjumon and met her during the course of her work said she was “completely dedicated to her work and patients”.

A former employer described her as “ incredibly professional” and said the care she provided to her patients was “exceptional”.