Men claim problems contributed to offence

PROBLEMS with staffing, training and management at Prestbury Care Home contributed to Dias and Ciecielowski’s offending, the court was told.

Both men claimed their initial training consisted of watching a series of DVDs then answering questions which they never got any feedback on.

Dias said after a year of working at the care home he was moved to deal with residents with ‘challenging behaviour’.

But the 21-year-old said he felt ‘out of his depth’ and wrote to managers to say he was not coping.

Terry Sharpe, defending Dias, said: “He was given another DVD to watch. He also claims he was being bullied.

“There was a gradual build up to the incident and on the night in question he and his co-defendant had to put 23 residents, including nine in the ‘challenging behaviour’ ward, to bed on their own. It was too much.

“When Mr Dias saw that footage he described himself as a monster. That position remains.”

Julian Farley, defending Ciecielowski said he was ‘appalled’ by the footage and apologises to the victim and her family.

Following the case, a spokesperson for the home said: “We were shocked and appalled by the actions of these individuals, whose behaviour went against everything we stand for as an organisation.

“We have fully supported the police investigation and the successful prosecution of the two offenders, who we are pleased will now be prevented from working in a care setting again.

“We are disappointed the recent CQC report was used by the defence – this was a wholly unacceptable act by two rogue individuals that is not representative of the professional, caring and dedicated staff who work at the home.

“We are challenging the outcome of the CQC report, and strongly refute both its findings, and the related claims made by the offenders.

“We have apologised unreservedly to the affected family, who continue to support the home, the actions we have taken, and the overall standard of care we provide.

“The safety, health and wellbeing of the residents we care for is always at the forefront of everything we do, and we take a zero-tolerance approach to any behaviour which falls below the very highest standards of care.”