CARE WORKERS JAILED AFTER TREATING ELDERLY WOMAN 'NO BETTER THAN A DOG'
Care workers Hayley Burton, 25, and Ricky Wheelhouse, 28, were jailed after a judge said they put a dementia victim on trial and showed no remorse.The pair claimed that Gloria Rowland, 77, had thrown toast, hit a female carer, and called them liars when they visited her Mansfield home.
Burton had managed to avoid a blow from Mrs.
Rowland, but the carers kept questioning her.
During the trial, Ricky Wheelhouse asked: "Did you hit her for the fun of it?" and repeatedly said: "What's your reason?" After Mrs.
Rowland denied hitting Burton, Wheelhouse continued accusing her.
The elderly woman was recorded on a tape recorder made after concern from her daughter.
Judge Stuart Rafferty QC told them, "As that tape recording revealed, you treated that elderly lady no better than a dog.
This is despicable behaviour.
There are no excuses.
You put her on trial, repeatedly saying 'what's the reason' for doing something.
You tried to make her confess to something she did not understand.
A custodial sentence is inevitable so others in your position understand they must treat the elderly with respect.
Neither one of you showed the slightest remorse.
That is why you are going down." The two admitted to ill-treating the individual while care workers in June 2018 and have left the care industry.
Mrs.
Rowland has since died.
The court heard that Burton had avoided being hit by Mrs.
Rowland, who had been receiving visits from care workers in her Mansfield home.
The judge emphasized the seriousness of the abuse and the need for respect towards the elderly.
