CARE WORKERS JAILED FOR HORRIFIC ABUSE OF DEMENTIA PATIENTS' DOLLS
Two care workers, Shauna Higgin and Victoria Johnson, who inflicted cruelty on dementia patients by mistreating their therapy dolls, are currently in detention.Both women admitted to committing two counts of mistreatment of residents at Ashbourne House Nursing Home located in Middleton, Rochdale, last year.
They shared videos and images depicting themselves harming these therapy dolls.
Higgin, aged 20 from Middleton, received a 13-month sentence at a young offender institution, while Johnson, aged 23 from Oldham, was sentenced to 12 months in jail.
During the sentencing at Manchester Crown Court Minshull Street, Judge Andrew Lowcock described the acts as “cruel,” stating: “You treated residents as toys, as objects for your tasteless jokes.” The dolls serve a therapeutic purpose, with residents caring for them as if they were infants.
One photograph showed Higgin pulling a doll away from an elderly woman in a manner likened to a “Tug of War.” On another occasion, Johnson recorded Higgin tossing a doll onto the ground while shouting “Die baby.
Die.” The dolls were also found in disturbing scenes, including hanging by their necks, being placed inside a tumble dryer, a cooking pot, submerged in a fish tank, and dragged along a corridor by Higgin.
The images were sent to the Manchester Evening News by a whistleblower, leading to a police investigation in January.
Ashbourne House Nursing Home, which caters to residents with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, was placed under special measures earlier this year by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
The latest report from the CQC expressed satisfaction with the actions taken, emphasizing that such abuse and neglect of vulnerable individuals will not be accepted.
The home, managed by Silverdale Care Homes Limited, has not issued any public comment.
Two counts of wilful neglect or ill treatment are to be officially recorded against the staff involved.
