A nurse in charge of an East Sussex nursing home rostered staff who no longer worked there to look after patients, an inquiry was told.

Drusilla Relf, 46, also allowed staff at the 22-bed Crofton Nursing Home in Hastings to work excessive hours, putting the patients at risk, it was claimed.

Dru Sharpling, solicitor to the UK Central Council for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting (UKCC), told its professional conduct committee that health visitors were shocked to find a 77-year-old nurse had been rostered to work 14 consecutive hours on March 31, 1996.

She said: "You may feel that 14 hours for a nurse of this age is inappropriate, given the circumstances."

One of the nurses alleged to have worked excessive hours, Wilhelmina Jallim, 51, is jointly charged with Mrs Relf with misconduct at the central London hearing.

Ms Sharpling told the committee that inspector Jacqueline Wilmott discovered on one visit to the home that Miss Jallim had worked a total of 70 hours between March 31 and April 5, 1996.

She said: "On April 13-14, Miss Jallim had worked 21 consecutive hours, seemingly without sleep, obviously affecting the quality of care she could provide."

Mrs Wilmott also discovered that on one occasion two members of staff were rostered for duty in March 1996 when they had in fact left the home's employment in January 1995.

The council's case was that Mrs Relf must have known there was something wrong with the rotas, yet she had not taken action to make sure they were accurate.

Ms Sharpling said: "She was responsible as the person in charge."

Mrs Relf was also discovered to have been working at a nearby hospital at the same time as she was supposed to be at the home.

On another visit on March 15, 1996, Mrs Wilmott made an unaccompanied tour of the home at Miss Jallim's invitation and discovered that four patients' call bells were either inaccessible or not working properly.

Ms Sharpling was opening the council's case against the two women, who deny misconduct although they admit many of the factual allegations.

Mrs Relf, who is attending the hearing and is represented by barrister Dominic Webber, admits that as the person in charge of the home she permitted inaccurate rotas to be maintained between March 1996 and June 1998.

She denies permitting staff to work excessive hours, thereby putting patients at risk.

Miss Jallim, who is also attending the hearing and is represented by barrister Paul Hogban, denies failing to ensure all patients had access to a working call bell on March 15, 1996, but she admits working an excessive number of hours at the home between March and April 1996.

The hearing continues.