Five members of staff at a nursing home have gone on trial accused of neglecting and ill-treating the 85-year-old dementia sufferer
Wendy Shelley and William Vasey outside Liverpool Crown Court(Image: Liverpool Echo)
Carers at a nursing home placed a pair of underpants on an 85-year-old resident’s head and “waved their bum in her face”, a court has heard. Five members of staff at Wavertree Nursing home went on trial at Liverpool Crown Court today after CCTV footage allegedly captured the dementia sufferer being subjected to abuse.
Senior care assistant William Vasey is alleged to have repeatedly placed the underwear on the woman’s head, but claims that he only did so in order to put rollers in her hair. Colleague Wendy Shelley is meanwhile accused of “shaking her bum in the face of” the pensioner, although she says that she did this “as a bit of fun” after being called “fat arse” by the service user.
Co-workers Josh Ireland, Valerie Marshall and Adelle McIlhatton are also facing a jury, with the carers and nurse being said to have watched and laughed as the OAP was “humiliated and ganged up on”. All five deny charges of ill treatment and neglect.
Jonathan Rogers told a jury of seven men and five women during the prosecution’s opening this afternoon, Monday, that the complainant, who the ECHO has chosen not to name, had been a resident of the care home in February last year due to suffering from dementia and learning difficulties. She had also been under the care of the Court of Protection due to her “lacking capacity to understand her care needs”.
But Mr Rogers said of the defendants: “It was their responsibility to look after the residents in the care home. But we, the prosecution, allege that, on one particular day, the 9th of February, they all failed to do so.
“You will see video evidence capturing the defendants either ill treating or wilfully neglecting one of the residents at that nursing home. At the time, she was 85 years of age. The videos that I will play to you will show one or another of the defendants, on that occasion, prodding or pushing her, waving their bum in her face, putting underpants on her head or laughing at what the other defendants were doing.
“It is clear from the video, we, the prosecution, say, that, instead of looking after and caring for her, the defendants were effectively ganging up on her, humiliating and making fun of her or laughing her. Not one of the defendants, as you will see, seeks to stop what is happening.”
Mr Rogers detailed how the footage showed all five of the defendants in the care home’s dining area, with the four care assistants being present at a table alongside the woman in question and nurse McIlhatton being sat nearby. Shelley was then shown “pushing at the woman several times” and “appearing to try and grab her face before pushing her on the right shoulder”.
Adelle McIlhatton and Josh Ireland outside Liverpool Crown Court(Image: Liverpool Echo)
While the resident was apparently seen “trying to stop her by pushing her away”, Mr Rogers said that “those around the table and the nurse did nothing to intervene”. Shelley was then seen “effectively shaking her bum in the face of” the woman, “continuing to do this despite [the woman] trying to push her away”.
Vasey was then seen approaching the patient and “saying something to her, causing everybody, it appears, to laugh”, with Marshall having “her head in her hands” at this time. The former was subsequently seen “grabbing at” the resident’s face as she “pushed him away”.
Mr Rogers continued: “It appears that some underpants are being thrown between Josh Ireland and [the woman]. What you will see next is, Mr Vasey picks up those underpants and puts them on her head.
“You can see the other defendants. Nobody does anything. They just appear to be laughing at what has gone on. What we say happens in this clip is, Mr Vasey again picks up the pants and throws them at [the woman], who throws them or passes them back.
“Mr Vasey continues to throw the pants at her. It is clear that she does not want them anywhere near her, because she keeps throwing them at him. Mr Vasey picks the pants back up and puts them back on her head. He repeatedly throws them at her. He repeatedly puts them in her face, despite her trying to push him away.
“The other defendants do not do anything. They are just laughing at what is happening. There he is, throwing the pants in her face. Ms Shelley comes back and puts her arms on her shoulders, and Mr Vasey puts the pants back on her head. He puts them in her face.”
Another staff member who worked in the care home’s kitchen went on to report to police how the resident was “clearly upset and distressed by what was happening to her”. Under interview, Vasey told detectives that the woman “had no family and didn’t receive visitors”, describing her as a “little bully” who would “walk up to people and smack them”.
The 42-year-old, Penlinken Drive in Tuebrook, went on to state that “he was just messing with” her and “had no malicious intent and intended no harm”. He meanwhile maintained that he was “using the knickers to keep rollers in her hair” and denied having poking her in the face, saying that he was “just tickling her” and “just trying to put a smile on her face”.
William Vasey outside Liverpool Crown Court(Image: Liverpool Echo)
Probationary staff member Ireland, who had been working at the home for around six months, said in his interview that his “job included looking after the wellbeing of residents and giving them dignity in life”. The 23-year-old, of Bancroft Road in Widnes, similarly said that the woman in question “could be aggressive at times” and “remembered her getting distressed on that day”.
But Ireland “remembered that she wasn’t enjoying what was happening” and “didn’t think that what people were doing to her was ok”. He went on to “agree that she was being mistreated” and said he “didn’t say anything to anyone or challenge them to stop”.
While he “couldn’t explain why he did nothing”, Ireland conceded that he was “laughing at what happening” and “throwing and passing the pants” to the resident. He added: “It just mortifies me. Looking back, why didn’t I stop it?”
Josh Ireland outside Liverpool Crown Court(Image: Liverpool Echo)
Shelley, of Tetlow Street in Walton, told police that the resident “could be aggressive sometimes” but “seemed to suggest that what she was doing was only a bit of fun”. She added: “I know it looks like I’m shaking my bum in her face, but she calls us names. She called me fat arse.”
The 56-year-old went on to explain that the woman had “probably been calling her something”, and she was “shaking her bum because she had called her fat arse”. Shelley meanwhile stated that Vasey had “put the pants on her head as they were going to be used to put rollers in her hair” and said she was giving the complainant a massage, “denying that she was distressed” and saying it was “just part of the relationship they had with her”.
Wendy Shelley outside Liverpool Crown Court(Image: Liverpool Echo)
McIlhatton, of Ivydale Road in Mossley Hill, gave a prepared statement under questioning claiming that she was “not fully aware of how she was being treated by the other staff” and “would have intervened” if she had realised. However, Mr Rogers told the court that the 51-year-old was “facing directly at” the resident at the time.
Adelle McIlhatton outside Liverpool Crown Court(Image: Liverpool Echo)
Marshall, of Selside Walk in Netherley, also labelled the woman as “violent”. She meanwhile denied having been laughing in the video, saying that she “had her face in her hands because she was waiting for a phone call about her grandson, who wasn’t well”.
The 50-year-old went on to state that Vasey had put the underwear on the woman’s head “because he was going to use them to secure rollers in her hair” and denied seeing him poking her. She added that “if she had seen what was going on, she would have said something and challenged the behaviour”.
Mr Rogers added: “Mr Vasey and Ms Shelley seem to suggest that there was nothing wrong with what they did. They are saying that there was no ill treatment.
“Ms McIlhatton and Ms Marshall say that they were not aware of what was going on. Finally, Mr Ireland says that he was aware of what was going on. He says that he should have intervened, but he didn’t.”
Vasey, Ireland and Shelley deny being a carer ill treating an individual, while Ireland, Marshall and McIlhatton have pleaded not guilty to wilful neglect by “effectively not stopping others from doing what they were doing” and “instead laughing at what was going on”. The trial, before Judge Katherine Pierpoint, continues, and is expected to last for around five days.