A CARE assistant who assaulted a frail 91-year-old woman in a local nursing home, after claiming she had tolerated repeated nipping from the dementia sufferer, has had sentence deferred for nine months to be of good behaviour.
The elderly patient, who suffers from severe dementia and restricted mobility, was left with a red hand mark on her back after being slapped by 27-year-old Holly Gordon.
Gordon, who has worked as a care assistant for six years, was attending to the woman with another member of staff at Galashiels Nursing Home in Kirkbrae on September 8.
At Selkirk Sheriff Court on Monday, Gordon, a first offender, of Kilncroft, Selkirk, admitted striking the woman on the body to her injury.
Procurator fiscal Graham Fraser described the woman as “weak and frail”.
“She is also feisty, due to her dementia, and is known to nip nursing staff, which is something they have to deal with,” he explained.
Gordon had been working with a colleague, attending to the woman, in her bedroom.
“Their duties included changing her clothes, and they were in the process of lowering her into a seat, when the accused struck her on her back, causing her to scream,” said Mr Fraser.
“Her position is that she had been nipped by this lady previously, and a blow was struck, and the lady screamed,” he continued.
“The other member of staff was not aware of any reason for the blow being struck and spoke to her colleagues.”
The nurse in charge was notified, and after checking the well-being of the elderly lady, a red hand print was found just below her shoulder.
Details were recorded and management informed.
When approached about the incident, Gordon said: “I didn’t slap her. It was a tap.”
When the nursing home manager attended, Gordon said: “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”
Police were alerted and an investigation began, with Gordon making no comment when interviewed by officers on September 13. “There has been no permanent harm to the old lady,” added Mr Fraser, “but this was wholly inappropriate behaviour, whatever the reason.”
Defence solicitor Ross Dow said his client was “terribly sorry” for the offence, and had been dismissed from her employment just a few days after for gross misconduct.
“This is going to be a source of regret for the rest of her life,” he added.
“The fact that this was entirely inappropriate behaviour has not been lost to her,” he continued.
Mr Dow said Gordon’s health had also deteriorated since the offence.
“She had worked for this company for six years without incident,” he explained.
“She said she felt this nipping when she was helping the old lady and had a momentary lapse of resolve and slapped her.
“She essentially lost her temper,” he added, “and she knows that she has to have a longer fuse than others.”
Gordon, who sat in the dock sobbing, with her head bowed, was told by Sheriff Kevin Drummond: “For six years you have been employed in work involving the care of the elderly and infirm in the community.
“There must be many occasions when that work can be highly demanding and accompanied by many stresses.
“It is a job which provides a valuable service in the community and high standards are called for in this field of work.
“Fortunately, there has been no lasting harm to the lady concerned,” he added.
“You have your own problems to contend with and, as a result of this, you have lost your job, and your prospects of employment in this field must be limited.
“You are 27 years old, with no previous convictions, and I do not consider a financial penalty an appropriate way to deal with this,” he continued.
“The nature of the lapse and your previous good character enables me to deal with this by a deferral of sentence for nine months, for good behaviour,” he concluded.
Sentence was deferred until July 22 next year.