Jindalee staff say they were too busy during their morning rush to check on the wellbeing of a resident, who was later found dead, following a fight between two others in the same room.
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An inquest is currently examining the circumstances of the killing of Charles McCulloch, 94, in the dementia ward at the Jindalee Aged Care Residence in January 2012.
He was found bashed and bloody in his bed in the morning.
The way that Jindalee responded to the death, which one nursing assistant described as "unprecedented" on Tuesday, has come under scrutiny in the ACT Coroner's Court.
Mr McCulloch's body was left unsupervised for stretches of time after he was first discovered, including while the man suspected of killing him was still in the room.
A pillow was later found covering his face.
Coroner Peter Dingwall has previously stated that no individual staff member is likely to be blamed, a point he reiterated on Tuesday in relation to the registered nurse on shift at the time, Miho Endo.
Mr Dingwall issued a statement to correct a media report that stated Ms Endo had altered her original notes about the incident to suggest a pillow was already covering Mr McCulloch's face the first time she went into the room.
He said Ms Endo's evidence was not that she altered her original notes, but in fact that she had struck out handwritten words, which were still visible and legible.
Mr Dingwall said Ms Endo did not say her aim was to make it sound like the pillow was there on her first check of Mr McCulloch.
"Rather, she stated that the error in the note arose from the fact that she was shocked and very confused on that day," Mr Dingwall said.
"Ms Endo presented as a truthful, experienced, professional, sympathetic, and caring nurse.
"I do not propose making any findings adverse to, or criticism of, Ms Endo."
The inquest is concentrating on systemic issues at Jindalee that may have hindered the response to Mr McCulloch's death.
One such issue is whether increased staff-to-resident ratios may improve monitoring and safety in the complicated and difficult environment of a high-needs dementia ward.
On Tuesday, nursing assistants who were on shift at the time of Mr McCulloch's death were questioned about the incident.
On the morning of the death, the man suspected of killing Mr McCulloch was involved in a fight with another man in the same room.
That altercation left the resident bleeding and crying. Staff separated the pair, but did not check Mr McCulloch to see if he was also injured.
Counsel assisting the inquest Amanda Tonkin asked one staff member whether such a check would have been prudent.
The staff member agreed it would have been, and said: "It was a busy time of the day and we had the considerations of other residents to look after as well."
Ms Tonkin responded: "Just too busy to check on Mr McCulloch?"
The nursing assistant said: "In a way, yes."
He conceded the response to the death had not been properly managed.
"It was an unprecedented thing, I'd never seen anything like this before," he said.
Another nursing assistant, who was responsible for Mr McCulloch on the day, said he had simply been too busy to check on Mr McCulloch after his suspected killer had fought with another resident in the room.
"At that time, I was just too busy," he said.
He said it would be helpful if there were more staff.
The inquest will resume hearings in November.
