Carer jailed after being caught on video abusing demented elderly woman
Daniel Baynes, 24, was jailed for four months for his treatment of 79-year-old Gladys Wright at her care home in North Somerset.A carer has been jailed after he was caught abusing and manhandling a vulnerable dementia sufferer at a specialist home - by a secret camera set up to reassure the family.
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Shocking footage showed distressed Gladys Wright, 79, being pushed, shoved and pulled on a number of occasions, while staff subjected her to a tirade of verbal abuse.
Carers, Daniel Baynes, Tomasz Gidaszewski and Janusz Salnikow , can be heard calling the pensioner a "nasty aggressive b****" and telling each other to "f*** her", throughout the recordings.
On one occasion Baynes, 24, attempted to force Mrs Wright's eyes open, while on another he pushed the clearly distressed pensioner onto the bed, while attempting to change her, before applying his weight on her legs to hold her down.
Salnikow, 25, while changing Mrs Wright for bed, is shown to hold the nape of her neck before forcing her backwards into her chair by grabbing her chin.
The appalling treatment only came to light after Mrs Wright's son, James, placed a hidden camera in the room to reassure himself the treatment his mother was receiving in the specialist Granary Care Home, in Wraxall, North Somerset, was unlike the horror stories he had read about.
He was so horrified by what he saw however he immediately took the footage to police.
The men, who were suspended from their positions as soon as the evidence came to light, pleaded guilty to the abuse, which took place October and December 2012, at an earlier hearing.
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Sentencing them Judge Michael Longman said: "You were employed as carers. This was in breach of a most basic duty of care and humanity which you had all undertaken to perform.
"Nothing about her behaviour or the environment in which you worked excuses your behaviour against a very vulnerable patient in your care."
Bayne, of Bath, was handed four months behind bars after admitting three counts of ill treatment or neglect of a person who lacks capacity, and another of theft after he was caught stealing Mrs Wright's food.
Salnikow, of Southmead, Bristol, who practiced yoga while in the dock, was given two months in prison, suspended for two years after admitting three counts of ill-treatment.
Gidaszewski, of Nailsea, north Somerset, was sentenced to 180 hours of unpaid work for admitting one count of the same.
Despite the sentences however Mr Wright believes nothing will change until 24 hour CCTV is placed in all home and wished he had recorded "nothing but good behaviour".
Speaking afterwards he said: "I wish I recorded nothing but good behaviour. That would have been the best outcome.
"I had no reason to believe there would be problems, because she wouldn't have gone there in the first place."
Bristol Crown Court heard Mrs Wright was first admitted to the home in September 2012 after her family were no longer able to provide her with the care she needed for her severe advanced dementia.
The Granary Care Home, a specialist dementia centre, is owned and run by Shaw Healthcare, and has room for up to 60 sufferers.
But soon after arriving Mrs Wright's family became concerned about her treatment and set up a covert camera.
Kerry Barker, prosecuting, said: "After about three weeks Mrs Wright's son placed a covert camera in her room at the care home in order to assure himself that his mother was receiving appropriate care.
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"The covert footage shows that on particular occasions they ill-treated Mrs Wright.
"Watching the footage was a difficult and upsetting experience for Mr Wright.
"Watching his mother being ill-treated by people who were supposed to be caring for her remains a distressing memory."
Mr Wright was so appalled by what he saw he immediately confronted the home, who told him it was against Mrs Wright's "dignity" to put the cameras in her room.
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He then handed the 57 DVDs to police, in January 2013, which lead to the arrest of the three men.
Mr Barker added: "The police investigation revealed that care workers in the home had been recruited without any previous experience. Janusz Slanikow had been recruited by the company in his native Poland.
"Wages were low and there were often staff shortages.
"The training provided by the company, whilst describing the consequences of dementia did not provide staff with the necessary skills to care for people with dementia."
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A Care Quality Commission inspection, carried out during the criminal investigation, also found there were concerns about the quality of care and support given at the Granary home.
In interview Baynes said his behaviour "was not acceptable and embarrassing to watch", before adding he was "absolutely disgusted" with himself.
Martin Bloor, defending him said: "He is under no illusions how serious these matters are and he wishes to express his apologies to the victim and her family."
Salnikow told officers on occasions there would be only three carers and a nurse to 30 residents and said he was "not proud" of what he had been shown.
Virginia Cornwall said he had acted out of "frustration".
Stephen Mooney, for Gidaszewski, said his client was "mortified by what he had done".
After the hearing Mr Wright said: "The family have been deeply traumatised by the events that have led up to these proceedings.
"There were a few instances that the family were grateful for, where lower management were concerned. There were many more huge problems.
"We believe we'll be seeing many more instances of the abuse of vulnerable individuals and know this will not improve until we see the implementation of CCTV in these homes."