A nurse who posted photos on Instagram of a nursing home resident sleeping on highly soiled bedsheets has been found guilty of professional misconduct.
Jerymay Palma Gargallano, who appeared before a fitness-to-practise committee of the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (NMBI) on Monday, was also found guilty of poor professional performance and breaches of the code of professional conduct and ethics for registered nurses.
Gargallano, who is from the Philippines, admitted that between July 1st and July 2nd, 2025, while working the night shift at Cairnhill Nursing Home, Herbert Road, Bray, she took a photograph on her mobile phone of a resident lying asleep on heavily soiled bed sheets.
Gargallano also admitted to taking a photograph of the bedsheets after the female resident, anonymised to B, was taken out of her bed.
She further admitted she posted the photographs on her personal Instagram account when she got home from work along with the caption ‘Living the dream! One disaster at a time’ and a face-with-sunglasses emoji.
One of B’s two daughters, anonymised to witness A, gave evidence to the committee along with a framed photograph of her mother.
Witness A said her mother had been a resident in Cairnhill Nursing Home for eight years and always took great pride in her appearance, getting her hair and nails done on a weekly basis and applying lipstick daily.
She said her mother also took great care in the clothes she wore each day, being careful to co-ordinate them with any accessories.
She said this was how she appeared in the photograph she brought with her on Monday, which was taken on her mother’s 93rd birthday in January 2025, and which was how she and her family wished to remember her.
Witness A said her mother was not bowel incontinent but had age-related issues regarding her bladder.
She related how in May 2025, while she was on holiday with her sister, her mother phoned her in an extremely distressed state as she had experienced an episode of bowel incontinence and didn’t want to tell any staff at the nursing home.
Witness A said she contacted the nursing home and that staff there looked after her mother.
She said her family made a decision not to look at a copy of the photographs that Gargallano took.
She said that apart from the incident in July 2025, the family were happy with the care B received at the nursing home.
However, Witness A said her trust in the healthcare system had been “severely eroded”.
Conan McKenna, chairman of the committee, said, in delivering its findings, Gargallano was dealing with “a vulnerable patient”.
McKenna said Gargallano had “a moral and professional obligation” to treat B with “dignity and respect” but her conduct did not meet that obligation.
He said Cairnhill Nursing Home had policies regarding social media and the use of mobile phones, which Gargallano did not follow.
Caoimhe Daly, barrister for NMBI chief executive Carolyn Donohoe, submitted that although the subject of the inquiry was a one-off incident, due to the seriousness of the conduct, any sanction should be “at the upper end” of the scale.
Daly read to the committee the witness statement of Louise Moran, director of nursing at Cairnhill, who recalled that she met Gargallano in April 2023 when Gargallano started at Cairnhill.
Moran said the Health Information and Quality Authority was made aware that a photo of a resident at the nursing home had been posted, and it asked on July 4th that it be removed immediately.
Daly also read to the committee a witness statement of Melissa Smith, HR manager with Trinity Nursing Home Group, of which Cairnhill is a part.
Smith said that on July 4th she received a phone call from Moran, who said she had received information that a photo was published on Instagram showing the legs of a resident, lying in a bed, and that Moran was looking for guidance.
Smith advised that Gargallano should be suspended from her employment immediately on full pay while an investigation took place. Gargallano was ultimately dismissed from her job at Cairnhill.
Katie Morrissey, barrister for Gargallano, said her client could not explain or justify her conduct but that she understood the seriousness of her conduct and offered “a sincere apology”.
The fitness-to-practise committee will prepare a report, which will include recommendations as to sanction, to forward to the board.