A carer has been jailed for abusing an elderly and frail woman with dementia in her home in Birmingham.
The abuse was captured on a secret camera installed by the woman’s family. Her family became concerned after they saw bruising on her body and her grandson heard her screaming in her bedroom. He set up a secret camera to get to the bottom of what was happening.
The footage, shot in early August last year, showed several forms of abuse meted out on the woman by the carer named Ashikiah Reid, 36. It shows Reid slapping the victim’s hand away and leaning on her ribs, causing her to cry out.
As soon as her bosses were shown the footage, Reid was dismissed. She has now been given an eight-month prison sentence for her abuse.
Prosecutor Alison Scott Jones said: “The family certainly did not anticipate what we are about to see. The handling lacks compassion. There is no communication with the patient about what is going on. It is very sterile and rough.
Miss Scott Jones said the victim was now scared of any new carers.
She added: “This is a vulnerable old lady who appears to be terrified of the very people paid to look after her.”
She said it was also upsetting for the family to discover this had been going on while they were in the house.
In a statement the victim’s daughter in law said what happened had taken the safety and happiness away from her.
Judge Mark Wall QC said: “The video I have watched reveals that you were handling her without assistance which was contrary to the care plan.
“While you were doing that you were very rough with her on occasions. You have slapped her hands and have lent on her in a way that has caused her obvious distress. She was at times shouting out in protest. You have left her without a sense of security she ought to feel in her own home.
“This was an old lady of extreme vulnerability in addition to her age.”
Watch the video below.
