A CARE assistant who assaulted a 91-year-old woman suffering from severe dementia “after losing her head” was admonished after being of good behaviour during a nine-month period of deferred sentence.
Holly Gordon was sacked from her job at Galashiels Nursing Home in Kirkbrae when the attack was reported by a work colleague.
An earlier hearing was told how the frail pensioner let out a scream when the 27-year-old slapped her on the back, leaving a red hand print.
Gordon, of Kilncroft, Selkirk, pleaded guilty to assaulting the 91-year-old patient by striking her on the body with her hand at the nursing home on September 8.
Sheriff Kevin Drummond said he took into account she was a first offender, had lost her job and was unlikely to be employed in the care profession again.
He added: “For six years you were employed working in the care of the elderly and infirm in the community. There must be many occasions when that work has high demands and many stresses. High standards are called for in the care of those individuals. You have admitted a lapse of those high standards.”
Her lawyer, Ross Dow, said it was Gordon’s position that she had been nipped by the patient. He added: “It was a highly-charged situation and it was a momentarily single lapse. There is not a day gone by when she does not think about it.”
The home has been in business since 1988 and has 37 residents requiring long-term, short-term and respite care.