Care worker is sentenced for violence
Reporter A CARER who lashed out and punched an 80-year-old dementia sufferer after she lost her temper has been ordered to do unpaid work.
As we have previously reported, Michelle Mitchell assaulted the vulnerable pensioner in a corridor of Northlea Court Care Home in Cramlington, where she was working at the time.
A colleague who witnessed the incident then saw the 53-year-old scratch her own arm and try and claim the elderly woman had grabbed and injured her, a court was told.
The co-worker reported the assault to a manager and Mitchell was immediately suspended and the matter was reported to the police.
She denied punching the elderly resident and pleaded not guilty to one charge of a care worker ill-treatment/ wilfully neglecting an individual when she appeared at South East Northumberland Magistrates’ Court in July.
But, after a trial at the same court last week, Mitchell, of Alderly Way, Cramlington was convicted of the offence.
Now magistrates have given her a 12-month community order and told her to do 100 hours of unpaid work.
Chairing magistrate Lewis Bartoli said: “We have heard from the Probation Service and, obviously, we have the benefit of being the trial bench in this case, so we’re familiar with all the facts.
“It does concern us you continue to deny the offence and you provided a slightly different version of events to probation from the one you did to us on the day of trial.”
During the trial last week, the court heard Mitchell had worked with the vulnerable victim both at Northlea and a previous care home for at least three years prior to the incident on the afternoon of March 13 this year.
James Long, prosecuting, said the elderly resident suffered from dementia and had a habit of putting items, such as cutlery, down her trousers.
When this happened, a care plan instructed that at least two care workers should take the pensioner into a private bathroom or her bedroom to remove the items in question.
However, on this occasion, Mitchell had approached the woman alone in a communal corridor, Mr Long said.
A GP was called to check on the elderly resident but no markings or bruising were found, the court heard.
Mitchell denied punching the victim and claimed her colleague had been “tired” and mistaken in what she saw. She told the court she hadn’t used any force with the victim and had only moved her arm as she was digging her finger nails into her.
As well as the unpaid work, Mitchell was ordered to pay £710 in costs and a victim surcharge.