Have a question?
033 3772 0409

Legal News

A care assistant who was captured in camera of abusing her patient has been jailed (30 August 2012)

Date: 30/08/2012
Duncan Lewis, Legal News Solicitors, A care assistant who was captured in camera of abusing her patient has been jailed

The family of Ivy Robinson, the 89 year old elderly women, who was being tended in a care home, were worried after they started to see bruises developing on her hands. She was also becoming unusually distressed when her daughter was about to leave.
Having their suspicions, Simon Wood, the son-in-law, put a covert camera into his mother-in-law's room. The footage that's on that camera was sickening.
The dementia suffering old woman was put to sickening mistreatment by her carer Emma Bryan, who not only hit and shook Robinson, verbally abused her on number of occasions and failed to administer proper doses of medicine but along with her colleague Katherine Wallis, 45, dragged Robinson across the bedroom floor, making the elderly woman scream in pain. Wallis had threatened her with violence.
It was all uncovered when a camera was concealed within an alarm clock at Oakfoss House residential care home in Pontefract, West Yorkshire. The abuse was captured over five days by the hidden CCTV camera.
The care home assistant was sentenced to serve prison for "unforgivable and unacceptable" neglect and ill-treatment of an 89-year-old woman. Bryan was sentenced to four months at Leeds crown court on Wednesday and Wallis was given a 12-month community order.
Richard Butters, for the prosecution, told the court that the footage, from between 11 and 16 November 2011, showed Robinson was subjected to an array of "utterly undignified" treatment.
Butters explained that Robinson's daughter, Angela Wood, gave up work to help Oakfoss staff to care for her mother. But Wood became increasingly concerned about how she was being treated.
Describing the footage of the video Butters said how Bryan swore at Robinson, and called her a "horrible old lady" and a "nasty old cow". The footage also revealed that Bryan had not given the pensioner her medicine properly and showed her striking her on the hand and shaking her before telling her to "piss off". On one occasion, both Bryan and Wallis dragged Robinson between her chair and bed, ignoring the pleas of Ivy who kept shrieking.
A care assistant trainer who viewed the footage described it as the worst case of ill-treatment and neglect she had ever seen and said she was "physically upset" by the recording, the court heard.
Both the women were banned from working with vulnerable adults by the Judge Guy Kearl QC. He said the case represented a serious breach of trust and left Robinson and her family deeply upset.
Following the hearing, Robinson's daughter and son-in-law said they were finding it difficult to come to terms with the abuse.
The Woods decided to move Robinson out of Oakfoss House and are now taking further legal advice.

Call us now on 033 3772 0409 or click here to send online enquiry.
Duncan Lewis is the trading name of Duncan Lewis (Solicitors) Limited. Registered Office is Spencer House, 29 Grove Hill Road, Harrow, HA1 3BN. Company Reg. No. 3718422. VAT Reg. No. 718729013. A list of the company's Directors is displayed at the registered offices address. Authorised and Regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority . Offices all across London and in major cities in the UK. ©Duncan Lewis >>Legal Disclaimer, Copyright & Privacy Policy. Duncan Lewis do not accept service by email.