Care worker is cleared of ill-treating pensioner Judge accepts ‘she was trying to attend to her care’ at appeal
ACARE home worker who sprayed deodorant around the head of a frail grandmother with severe dementia has been cleared of ill-treating the pensioner.
A judge quashed Susan Draper’s conviction at Birmingham Crown Court.
She had been jailed for four weeks at Birmingham Magistrates in July, but was bailed after immediately appealing the conviction.
During an appeal in the higher court last Friday, the judge said she could not be certain that Ms Draper had intended to deliberately ill-treat the pensioner.
Instead, she accepted, she was trying to attend to her care.
The 43-year-old had previously been found guilty of ill-treating frail 78-year-old Betty Boylan at the Bupa-run Perry Locks home in Aldridge Road, Perry Barr.
Ms Draper, who was fired after working at the home for 17 years, was filmed when the pensioner’s worried relatives rigged up a £200 camera in her room after raising concerns about her care last August.
Peter Ricketts, defending, said Ms Draper had a blemish-free record at Perry Locks and had often “gone above and beyond her duties” when helping residents.
Ms Draper claimed she had used the spray to make Mrs Boylan smell nice, saying she would never purposefully harm her or anybody.
During her trial at magistrates court, she said: “I loved my job. It was a big part of my life. “I was there 17 years. “I had good friends. I believe that I and
Iwas loved Locks.
“I am not a bad person would not hurt any resident.
“As God is my witness I did not hurt Betty, I loved her.”
Clearing her of liked it the at Perry and
Ioffence, Recorder Anupama Thompson, and two magistrates colleagues, said: “We have seen from the footage that Mrs Boylan was taken from her bed and put into her chair.
“We can then see that Ms Draper sprays an Impulse body spray towards the lower part of her body and then it’s again sprayed around her head.
“We can hear Mrs Boylan say ‘Stop it!’ and we can also hear her moaning and groaning.
“We heard evidence from Ms Draper who said her intention was to make Mrs Boylan smell nice. “We find her a credible witness. “We can’t be satisfied that we are sure that it was deliberate ill-treatment.
“We have accepted the evidence that she was trying to attend to her care.
“It may be that not best practice.
“We could not be sure that reckless.
“We therefore uphold the appeal and quash the conviction of the lower court.”
Another worker at the home was previously convicted of ill-treating Mrs Boylan, captured on other footage recorded by the family.
Bina Begum, 49, was given a 12-month community order in February after admitting ill-treating and neglecting Mrs Boylan.
Begum, of Teddington Grove, Perry Barr, was also ordered to carry out 40 hours of unpaid work. it was unwise or it was