- Gladys Wright was a resident at the Granary care home in Somerset
- Daniel Baynes verbally abused and manhandled 79-year-old Mrs Wright
- He even admitted one count of stealing the dementia patient's food
- He was caught on CCTV after Mrs Wright's son Peter installed a camera
- Janusz Salnikow received a two-month suspended sentence
- Tomasz Gidaszewski was ordered to do 180 hours unpaid community work
- Victim's son James said he wished he filmed 'nothing but good behaviour'
Bristol
Crown Court was shown video showing a distressed Gladys Wright being
pushed, shoved and pulled on a number of occasions, while subjecting her
to a tirade of verbal abuse.
Daniel
Baynes, Tomasz Gidaszewski and Janusz Salnikow can be heard calling the
helpless pensioner a 'nasty aggressive bitch' and telling each other to
'f*** her', throughout the recordings.
Gladys Wright, pictured at her home in Bristol
around 1990, was subjected to ill-treatment in the weeks after she
moved into the Granary care home in north Somerset to due to her
worsening dementia
Daniel Baynes, was today jailed for four months
by Bristol Crown Court after admitting three ill-treating Mrs Wright
and stealing her food, left. Baynes, right, earlier told Police that he
was 'absolutely disgusted' by himself
On one
occasion Baynes, 24, attempts to force Mrs Wright’s eyes open, while on
another pushes 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.
Incredibly the appalling treatment only came to light after Mrs Wright’s son, James, placed a hidden camera in the room.
He
set the device up 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 disturbed by what he saw 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 in October
and December 2012.
Baynes,
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 practised yoga while in the dock, was given
two months in prison, suspended for two years after admitting three
counts of ill-treatment.
Mrs Wright is clearly distressed as a member of staff pins the frail 79-year-old pensioner to her bed
As soon as she is released, Mrs Wright attempts to sit up in her bed to the annoyance of the staff member
A staff member tries to open Mrs Wright's eyes with his fingers in an early morning wake-up call
Gidaszewski, of Nailsea, north Somerset, was sentenced to 180 hours of unpaid work for admitting one count of the same.
Sentencing
them at Bristol Crown Court, 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.'
James Wright installed the secret camera in his
mother's room at the Granary care home in Wraxall, North Somerset. When
he discovered the abuse he handed 57 DVDs to police who launched a
criminal investigation
Despite the sentences however Mr Wright believes nothing will change until 24 hour CCTV is placed in all homes.
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.
'I
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.'
Janusz Salnikow, left received a two-month
prison sentence suspended for two years while Tomaz Gidaszewski right
was sentenced to 180 hours unpaid work after they admitted ill-treating
the pensioner
The
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.
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.
'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 initially went to the care home with
his concerns who claimed it was against his mother's dignity to put
secret cameras in her room. After the case, Mr Wright said: 'I wish I
recorded nothing but good behaviour'
In an interview with police, Baynes admitted his behaviour 'was not acceptable and embarrassing to watch'
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.
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.'
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.
Gladys Wright, pictured with her partner Ken
Jones left was admitted to the Granary in September 2012 after her
dementia worsened
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'.
Jeremy
Nixey, chief executive officer of Shaw Healthcare, said: 'We operate a
zero-tolerance policy towards any unkind or disrespectful behaviour to
anyone in our care and that is why, when we were first advised by a
relative of incidents of poor care towards their family member, we
immediately referred the matter to the Police and North Somerset
Council.
'All three individuals involved in this case have not worked at The Granary since we were made aware of the incidents.
'We understand that this must have been a difficult time for the family, which we are extremely sorry for.
'We
hope that today will bring some closure for them and we are pleased
that these individuals have been brought to justice today.
'As the judge pointed out, the actions of these three individuals were not typical of care at The Granary.
'Since
these incidents came to our attention, a new area and home manager have
been appointed to oversee the implementation of an action plan looking
at every aspect of the service provided at The Granary.'
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