The 12-year ban from nursing follows his part in a ‘shameful chapter’ of Australia’s healthcare history.
The second of three managers of the Older Persons Mental Health Facility in Oakden, South Australia, has had his nursing registration cancelled and has been disqualified from applying again for 12 years.
Kerim Frederick Skelton, nursing director at the facility between 2010 and 2016, was found to have engaged in professional misconduct for five issues referred by the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia.
Mr Skelton acknowledged that his failings were significant and warranted a clear message being sent to him and other nurses that this could happen again.
Oakden was closed in 2017 after a review by South Australia’s chief psychiatrist uncovered rough handling of patients, an excessive use of restraints and a concerning level of injuries among its residents.
In 2018, the SA corruption watchdog released a report into Oakden, which found its residents suffered neglect due to a shortage of staff that rendered the facility “medically unsafe”.
The then-Independent Commissioner Against Corruption Bruce Lander described Oakden as a disgrace and declared the affair a “shameful chapter in the state’s history”.
The South Australian Civil and Administrative Tribunal found Mr Skelton had failed to adequately supervise and manage staff for the care of vulnerable, elderly people who were, in many cases, suffering from significant disabilities or other medical conditions.
The tribunal found Mr Skelton’s actions “constitute[d] professional misconduct because it comprised one or more instance of unprofessional conduct that, when considered together, amounts to conduct that is substantially below the standard reasonably expected of a registered health practitioner of an equivalent level of training or experience”.
Mr Skelton is the second former Oakden manager banned from nursing. On 11 December 2023 Julie Harrison was disqualified for 10 years after it was found she had undertaken “appalling conduct over a prolonged period” while working at Oakden between 2007 and 2015.
Mr Skelton has not practiced since 2018.
Adjunct Professor Veronica Casey AM, chair of the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia, welcomed the outcome.
“These vulnerable residents put their trust in nurses, managers and facilities to care for them when they need it most and it’s important that this trust is upheld,” she said.
“A disqualification as long as this highlights the severity of what went on at Oakden and sends a strong message to those in the industry that we must maintain safe and supportive work environments at all levels.”
AHPRA CEO Martin Fletcher said the tribunal outcomes supported the work of AHPRA and the NMBA.
“The shameful failures that took place at Oakden must never be repeated, and these outcomes send a powerful message to the entire health workforce to always put the welfare of patients as your paramount priority,” he said.
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